Top-ranked Halep crushes Garcia at WTA Finals

SINGAPORE: Simona Halep says she is relishing being the world number one after delivering an ominous warning to her rivals at the WTA Finals with a crushing, straight-sets victory over the in-form Caroline Garcia on Monday.

In her opening round robin match at the eight-player season finale, Halep halted Garcia´s 11-match winning streak with a 6-4, 6-2 masterclass in 88 minutes at the Singapore Indoor Stadium.

It was sweet revenge for the recently crowned world number one from Romania, who lost to France´s Garcia in this month´s China Open final in Beijing.

Halep, who received the top billing a day before the final in Beijing, said she enjoyed winning her first match as the world number one.

"I feel happy. I feel great winning the first match in the first tournament coming in as number one," she told reporters after the match.

"It´s a nice thing that I can be number one at the end of the year but it is not the most important thing in this moment for me. I just want to win the matches that I´m playing here."

Garcia, the world number eight, had secured the last spot for Singapore after winning back-to-back titles in Wuhan and Beijing, but she was thoroughly outclassed in her debut WTA Finals match.

"I´m disappointed about the loss," Garcia said. "It was not the way I wanted but it´s not over yet."

Halep´s famed defensive prowess and precision hitting took hold of proceedings, particularly as she breezed through the second set in 38 minutes.

In the Red Group´s second match, world number six Caroline Wozniacki posted her first win over Elina Svitolina in grand style with a 6-2, 6-0 thrashing in just 59 minutes.

Denmark´s Wozniacki had previously lost all three matches to Svitolina, including crushing finals losses in Dubai and Toronto this year, but won 10 straight games in a one-sided rout. She broke three times during a dominant second set lasting only 26 minutes.