Tennis-Halep pays heavy price for beating Williams

By Julian Linden SINGAPORE, Oct 26 (Reuters) - Simona Halep, like many others before her, learnt a hard lesson on Sunday, that there is a hefty price to pay for beating Serena Williams. Just days after the diminutive Romanian handed Williams her heaviest defeat in 16 years, she was brought back to earth with a thud, thrashed 6-3 6-0 in the WTA Finals title match. The world number one showed no mercy as she set about avenging her 6-0 6-2 loss in the round-robin stage, adding a sad footnote to one of the best weeks of the Romanian's life. "I have no power now to have emotions anymore," Halep told a news conference. "I feel okay but I cannot say that I feel happy. Every time when I lose I'm sad." Halep knew from the moment she beat Williams that the American would come back at her hard the next time they met. Little did she know that their rematch would come just four days later, a product of the unusual format of the WTA Finals, where players can still advance to the next stage even if they lose a group match. Ironically, it was Halep that helped Williams proceed in the tournament. Had the 23-year-old lost her final group match to Ana Ivanovic in straight sets, Williams would not have qualified for the semis. Halep did lose the first set to Ivanovic but rallied back to win the second. She went on to lose the match but by pushing it to three she threw Williams a lifeline. "I have no regrets, because I did my job on court against Ivanovic," Halep said. "I tried to win the match. I couldn't, but I never thought that I have to lose in two sets against Ivanovic. "(Serena) deserves to win the title. She's much better. So, yeah, it's okay. I have no regrets." Just as she did in their round-robin match, Halep made a bright start in the final against Williams, breaking the 18-time grand slam champion's second service game to grab the early advantage. But when Williams -- glaring at Halep every time she won a point -- raised her game, Halep could not respond, almost reduced to cannon fodder as the American exploited her every weakness. "I knew she will play better this match because she saw how I play, she saw what she has to do during the match," Halep said. "It was different because I couldn't stay there and stay focused to fight for every point. I was tired after first set and my arm was a little bit down. "I expected a tough match. I knew that she will play better. And yeah, it happened." Despite the comprehensive manner of her loss, Halep said she was leaving Singapore with renewed confidence after ending the year ranked third in the world. Languishing at 64th early last year, the 1.68 metre (5ft 6in) Halep has quickly established herself as one of the game's rising stars. She made the final of this year's French Open and caught the eye of Billie Jean King, who said Halep was a rare and exceptional player because she had the potential to win in an age when the bigger and stronger players rule. "I'm glad to hear this. She knows about tennis a lot and she knows what she's saying," Halep said. "For me it's important to hear those things, those good things about me. I'm still young. I have to improve more and to win more matches, more titles if I can. "So I continue my way, work hard every day to be a champion one day. But we will see if it will happen." (Editing by Rex Gowar)