Singapore: Maria Sharapova continued her mastery of Romania's Simona Halep with a high quality 6-4, 6-4 victory, marked with bruising baseline rallies to edge closer to a last four-berth at the WTA Finals on Tuesday.
The Russian world No. 4 topped the Red Group at the eight women end-of-season finals with her second win, and next faces US Open champion Flavia Pennetta, who said she would retire after the tournament, with a semi-final spot on the line.
Pennetta had earlier kept alive her WTA Finals bid with a flurry of backhand winners as she downed a strapped up and fatigued Agnieszka Radwanska 7-6 (7-5), 6-4 to leave the Pole bottom of the standings with two defeats. It was Pennetta's first win in the group - she was blown away by top seed Halep 6-0, 6-3 in her opener on Sunday - with her backhand proving a particularly devastating weapon at the Singapore Indoor Stadium.
Sharapova's win over the Romanian means all four players in the group can still claim one of the two semi-final spots available, but the Russian's strong form on her return after injury problems since Wimbledon has put her in the driving seat.
"I'm quite pleased to be able to beat the No. 2 player in the world," she told reporters.
Sharapova edged Radwanska over three tough sets on Sunday, but showed no willingness to go the distance again on Tuesday in a ferocious baseline battle against Halep, the top seed in the absence of fatigued world No. 1 Serena Williams.
Both players traded early breaks with neither enjoying an easy ride on serve before five-times Grand Slam champion Sharapova secured the set by breaking Halep, runner-up here last year, for a second time at 5-4.
On Monday, top seeds Sania Mirza and Martina Hingis recorded a straight-set victory in their opening match in the doubles competition.
The Indo-Swiss combine, on a roll with eight trophies already in their cabinet this season, defeated sixth-seeded American duo of Raquel Kops-Jones and Abigail Spears 6-4, 6-2 in the Red Group.
A break of serve in the opening set was all what Sania and Martina needed to take the lead.
In the second set, Sania and Martina first saved six break points and then broke their American opponents twice to pocket the set and the match. Sania had won the prestigious tournament last year with Zimbabwean Cara Black.
