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Halep had led the Pole 5-1 in the tiebreaker of their final
round robin clash only to lose the next six points and the set,
with the 24-year-old Romanian collapsing in the second and only
able to muster a single game.
"I was done. No energy anymore. I was tired," Halep told
reporters. "I felt that I lost the chance to win the first set
and probably I lost the chance to win the match in that moment."
Halep could have advanced to the semi-finals even in defeat on
Thursday if she had won a set after the Romanian split her
opening two matches -- a 6-0 6-3 win over U.S. Open champion
Flavia Pennetta and 6-4 6-4 loss to Maria Sharapova.
Working out the permutations seemed beyond a clearly exhausted
Halep, who was looking forward to enjoying some time away from
the court after the straight sets loss ensured there would be no
repeat of her run to the final here last year.
"I had the chance in the first set in the tiebreak. That's why
I'm a little bit disappointed that I lost this match, because I
couldn't finish the first set," she said.
"Then she was dominating. She started to play her best. It was a
good match. I was tired. I go home. I just want to take the
holiday now. I don't want to think about tennis anymore," she
said with a smile.
It marked a premature end to a year of mixed fortunes for the
world number two, who was top seed at the elite eight woman
event in Singapore after the withdrawal of defending champion
Serena Williams due to fatigue.
While Halep won the biggest title of her career at Indian Wells
in May and also lifted trophies in Dubai and Shenzhen, she
suffered a first-round defeat at Wimbledon and was knocked out
at the opening stages of the premier mandatories in Madrid and
Beijing.
That followed a second-round loss at the French Open, which the
Romanian said was the biggest disappointment of her year.
But she picked up with a strong showing on the American
hardcourts and reached the semi-finals of the U.S. Open.
"Yeah, actually, I think I had a good year this year. Ups and
downs, but it was okay," she said.
"I will finish number two or three in the world so it's pretty
good for me. It's second year in a row.
"I want to get better for the next year. I have many things to
improve. I have to run a little bit more because I need. Today I
couldn't breathe anymore in the second set."
(Editing by Sudipto Ganguly)
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