Simona Halep saved a match point before beating Canadian teen Bianca Andreescu 3-6, 7-6 (6), 6-3 at the WTA Finals in Shenzhen, China.
Halep, who won the Wimbledon title in July, saved the match point in the 12th game of the second set.
“Today was a challenge because she’s almost 10 years younger than me,” Halep said. “I was really proud of what I did after having a back injury for almost a month.”
After the tiebreaker, both players sought medical treatment. Halep had her foot treated while the 19-year-old Andreescu, the US Open champion, had a lower back problem. Andreescu also called for the trainer in the third set.
“I think she fought really hard,” Andreescu said. “I didn’t take my chances in the second set and after that my back really hurt."
Earlier, defending champion Elina Svitolina stretched her unbeaten run at the season-ending tournament into a new year, beating Karolina Pliskova 7-6 (12), 6-4 in her opening match.
Svitolina, the only player in this year’s field who has not won a title this season, was unbeaten in the tournament last year.
Above is a photo gallery of the matches. To move on to the next image, click on the arrows, or if using a mobile device, simply swipe.
