World number one Justine Henin began the defence of her WTA Championships singles title with a 6-1, 7-6 win over Russian Anna Chakvetadze in Madrid on Tuesday.
The 25-year-old Belgian rattled through the first set in 24 minutes but had to resist a determined fightback by her opponent before winning her opening round robin match in the yellow group of the $3 million end-of-season tournament.
Maria Sharapova, who won the event on her debut appearance in 2004 but has struggled with injury problems this season, also got off to a winning start with a 6-4, 7-5 victory over Daniela Hantuchova.
Sharapova looked on course for a straightforward win after dominating the first set, but Hantuchova refused to go down without a fight and saved four match points before finally relenting.
Henin, who has won a career-best nine titles this year including Grand Slams at Roland Garros and the US Open, quickly found her rhythm at the Madrid Arena, speeding around the court to put Chakvetadze under pressure.
She broke in the second game with a neat drop volley on her way to a 3-0 lead and cracked the Russian's serve once more in the sixth before taking the set 6-1.
PINPOINT RETURNS
Chakvetadze put up stiffer resistance in the second set when she found her range on the ground strokes and the players exchanged two breaks apiece until it boiled down to a tiebreak.
It was Henin, however, who found another gear in the decider, unleashing a succession of pinpoint returns to extend her winning streak to 21 matches.
"It's good to win the first match especially in a round robin," said Henin. "It is very important and gives me a lot of confidence."
Chakvetadze, playing in the event for the first time, said she had paid the price for her poor start to the match.
"I was very disappointed with the first set," said the 20-year-old. "I was so sleepy, I didn't move well, didn't serve well. It was horrible."
In Tuesday's final match, Serb Ana Ivanovic registered a fought 6-1, 4-6, 7-5 victory over Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova.
Results:
Red Group
4-Ana Ivanovic (Serbia) beat 2-Svetlana Kuznetsova (Russia) 6-1, 4-6, 7-5
6-Maria Sharapova (Russia) beat 8-Daniela Hantuchova (Slovakia) 6-4, 7-5
Yellow Group
1-Justine Henin (Belgium) beat 7-Anna Chakvetadze (Russia) 6-1, 7-6(4)
