Kanepi stuns world No.1 Halep in US Open first round

World No.1 Simona Halep crashed out of the US Open in the first round, going down to a shock 6-2 6-4 loss to unseeded Estonian Kaia Kanepi.

The Romanian, who broke her Grand Slam duck at the French Open in May, became the first-ever female top seed to lose in the first round at Flushing Meadows in the professional era.

On a hot and humid day, Halep failed to sustain any kind of service rhythm and her usually stout defence proved no match for the powerful Kanepi’s bruising groundstrokes and deft drop shots.

“I have always loved being in New York,” said the 33-year-old Kanepi, twice a quarterfinalist at the tournament and once ranked as high as world No.15.

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“I like the atmosphere. I like being here. I love the courts and the climate, and I think that the courts suit my game really well.”

The world No.44 earned the first break when she launched a backhand lob over Halep’s head to jump out to a 2-1 lead and went on to win five of the first six games while winning 80 percent of her first serve points in the set.

Frustration for Halep boiled over in the second game of the second set when she smashed her racquet on the court, earning a racket abuse warning from the chair umpire.

Halep recovered and it appeared a comeback was on when she broke Kanepi to love to level the second set at 4-4.
But Kanepi completed the upset when Halep sent a service return long on match point.

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“Today I just lost,” Halep told reporters.

“I didn’t play great, but she played really well. I knew that she can play well here. She played quarterfinals last year.

“I didn’t find the balance today. I couldn’t play better, so that’s it.”

Halep had looked primed for a long run in New York after she won the Rogers Cup this month and narrowly missed out on back-to-back titles after losing to Kiki Bertens in the Cincinnati final.

She pulled out of last week’s Connecticut Open with an Achilles injury.

The Romanian can take small consolation from the fact she has amassed enough ranking points to remain world number one after the two-week tournament ends.