Thursday 31 October 2019 14:42, UK
Top seed Angelique Kerber made a successful start to her WTA Finals campaign after a hard-fought baseline tussle with Dominika Cibulkova in Singapore.
Kerber, a dual Grand Slam winner this year, eventually prevailed 7-6 (7-5) 2-6 6-3, and there was also an opening day win for World No 4 Simona Halep, who beat Madison Keys 6-2 6-4.
Cibulkova won her third title of the year in Linz earlier this month but made a nervy start on her debut at the end-of-season WTA showpiece, opening with a double-fault and quickly falling a break down.
But she soon found her feet and the duo combined to produce a high-quality first set, which Kerber eventually won 7-5 on a tie-break.
Cibulkova remained on song though and powered into a 4-0 lead at the start of set two before going on to force a decider.
However, with both players beginning to tire, the resilience of Kerber proved decisive and she came back from an early break in the final set, winning four games in a row at one point and finally triumphing after two hours and 20 minutes.
"I was trying to stay focused in the third set," said Kerber. "Trying to play my game and be aggressive. That was my plan and it worked well.
"It was a really close and really tough match."
Earlier on, Halep,a beaten finalist here in 2014, had been too solid for Keys, who produced some booming forehands but also a string of unforced errors.
The American's play was particularly erratic in the opening set and, having broken in the third game to lead 2-1, Halep rattled off 11 points in a row on her way to a 5-1 lead.
Keys then held serve to stop the rot but Halep produced some well-placed body serves in the next game to hold and take the set in just 27 minutes.
She was soon on the trail of another break at the start of the second set but Keys pulled out some big forehands to save a pair of break points, only for Halep to break through in the fifth game and then move 4-2 up when she held to love.
Halep then suffered her sole loss of focus in the match and Keys capitalised, taking the next two games to level the match at 4-4.
But the Romanian knuckled down again, breaking for the fourth time in the match in the ninth game of the set and then holding serve to wrap up a 69-minute victory.
"It's always the same with Madison," said Halep. "She's very strong and hits the ball hard, so it's tough to match her power.
"I have to adjust, be strong with my legs, and make the most of my chances."
Halep and Kerber have an early edge in the race to qualify for the semi-finals from the Red Group while the White Group will get underway on Monday.
