World leader Serena Williams falls to Romania's Simona Halep

In her second match at the WTA Finals in Singapore Romanian player Simona Halep defeated world leader Serena Williams 6-0, 6-2. The Romanian player won the first set in just under 20 minutes, while the entire match had a runtime of 65 minutes.

Halep not only got her first win over a World No.1, it was her first win over a Top 3 player.

“I have no words to explain how I feel and how I felt on the court,” Halep said afterwards in the post-game press conference. “It was an amazing match for me. I played really well. I was aggressive, and after the first set I wasn’t scared. I just continued the match, continued to hit the balls and stay close to the baseline, because I knew I didn’t have a chance if I stayed back. I tried everything, and I was very relaxed during the match.

“Everything went very well for me today. I think it was the best match of my life.”

Williams talked about not playing her best, but was also extremely complimentary towards Halep.

“Personally I’ve never seen her play like this. Ever,” Williams said.

After losing three times previously to the American player, this is also the first time Simona Halep has defeated Serena Williams, with whom she shares the Red Group at the WTA Finals alongside Eugenie Bouchard and Ana Ivanovici.

The WTA Finals in Singapore brings together the eight best players in the world this season and the best eight doubles pairs. In the singles competition, the eight finalists were seeded in two groups where each will play against the others.

The first two players in each group will advance to the semifinals of the competition and the winners in the semifinals will play in the final.

On Monday, Simona Halep defeated Eugenie Bouchard, while Serena Williams won her opening match against Ana Ivanovici.

In the other Red Group match of the day, Ana Ivanovici defeated Eugenie Bouchard. The spot for the semi-finals is still up for grabs with the winner and the second-placed of the group being decided after the last matches on Friday. Simona Halep will play against Ana Ivanovici, while Serena Williams will face-off against Canadian Eugenie Bouchard.