Halep unlocks Keys in Finals

Halep proved that she will be a formidable opponent at the elite eight-woman event at the Singapore Indoor Stadium. Both players got off to solid starts and held comfortably with Keys making full use of her booming forehand to keep Halep at bay. It was the diminutive Romanian who drew first blood in the third game, however, probing down the American’s backhand side with pinpoint accuracy and converting her fourth break point when Keys plonked a weak drive into the net. 

Later, Angelique Kerber was forced to dig deep in her opener before the German world number one battled past Dominika Cibulkova 7-6(5) 2-6 6-3 in a high-class baseline slugfest. Defending champion Agnieszka Radwanska opens her campaign against Svetlana Kuznetsova on Monday.