By Canadian Press

Bianca Andreescu, Simona Halep set to clash for first time at WTA Finals

Oct 25, 2019 | 8:06 AM

SHENZHEN, China — Bianca Andreescu will play her first career match against Simona Halep at the WTA Finals — a contest that should make headlines in Canada and Romania.

The draw for the US$14-million event, held Friday, puts Canada’s Andreescu in the Purple Group with Romania’s Halep, Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic and Elina Svitolina of Ukraine.

Andreescu’s family is from Romania and the 19-year-old from Mississauga, Ont., spent some of her childhood in that country. She has said she looked up to Halep in her younger days.

Andreescu is the fourth seed at the eight-player event, while Halep is No. 5. They’re also the winners of the two most recent Grand Slams with Halep taking Wimbledon and Andreescu beating Serena Williams in the U.S. Open final.

The second-seeded Pliskova is the top-ranked player in the Purple Group. Andreescu won her only match against Pliskova, beating her in a quarterfinal at the Rogers Cup in Toronto in August en route to the title.

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Andreescu also is 1-0 against Svitolina, prevailing in a semifinal at Indian Wells, Calif., before winning that event in March.

The Red Group includes No. 1 Ashleigh Barty of Australia, No. 3 Naomi Osaka of Japan, No. 6 Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic and No. 7 Belinda Bencic of Switzerland.

After a round-robin, the top two players in each group receive semifinal berths.

In doubles, Ottawa’s Gabriela Dabrowski and Yifan Xu of China are seeded fourth.

Play begins Sunday.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 25, 2019.

The Canadian Press