Agnieszka Radwanska sent top seed Simona Halep crashing out of the WTA Finals on Thursday with a 7-6 (7/5), 6-1 win which also put a resurgent Maria Sharapova into the semi-finals.
But despite her 500th career victory, Radwanska now faces an anxious wait as she needs Sharapova to beat Flavia Pennetta in straight sets later if she is to join the Russian in the Singapore semis.
There are no such complex round-robin calculations left for Halep, whose campaign was ended by Radwanska’s defensive skills and experience accumulated over seven appearances at the season finale.
The Romanian world number two, last year’s runner-up to Serena Williams on debut, made a strong start when she immediately broke Radwanska in the first game.
But the Pole broke back in the sixth game to level the match at 3-3.
Long rallies led to a tie-break that Halep looked set to wrap up until Radwanska, seeded fifth, made two spectacular saves at the net and went on to clinch it 7-5.
The second set became a lopsided affair as Poland’s Radwanska played with renewed confidence and Halep’s energy flagged.