Simona Halep becomes the first world number one in the open era to lose in the first round of the US Open after being knocked out by Kaia Kanepi 6-2 6-4 on the brand new Louis Armstrong stadium.
The world number one was on the back foot from the very beginning as the powerful Estonian started to dominate proceedings with her forehand. It was going to take some time for some of the players to get used to the new Louis Armstrong stadium as Kanepi used her fearless style of play to grab the early break.
The Romanian looked frustrated as she couldn’t implement her game onto the court as the world number 44 was hitting the ball as fast as 70 MPH. Another break of serve from the two time quarter-finalist effectively sealed the set as Halep had it all to do.
After 29 minutes the Romanian found herself behind and it was clear to see that she was clearly frustrated at herself. Another break of serve from the 33 year old triggered an angry emotion from the Roland Garros champion as she slammed her racquet onto the ground.
However Halep’s opponent wasn’t to be underestimated despite her bad form this year, she was a quarter-finalist last year as a qualifier and it was easy to understand why. The Estonian didn’t only possess power as she used good construction of points to move the Romanian around.
After being two breaks and 3-0 down, Halep knew she had to find some energy or she would be out of the tournament on the first day. The top seed managed to find that energy as finally a break of serve occurred through some Kanepi unforced errors.
A tight sixth game saw a small chance of hope for a fired up Halep however the Estonian hit some hammer like forehands to extend her lead to 4-2. Despite the disappointment of not breaking the Romanian continued to grind and eventually received her rewards as she broke the Estonian to love to level the set at 4-4.
However the new balls changed the complexion of the match again as a simple hold from Halep turned into a nightmare game. On second break point a mix of powerful forehands and a delicate volley meant that the Estonian would serve for a massive upset.
The 2017 quarter-finalist kept her cool and converted her first match point to cause the biggest upset of the US Open so far and secure her first top 20 win of 2018. The Romanian lost her mental edge and just like in the Cincinnati final let her emotions get the best of her as she becomes the first world number one in the open era to lose in the first round of the US Open.
However take nothing away from Kanepi who is into the second round and will now play Swiss qualifier, Jil Teichmann, who defeated Dalila Jakupovic 6-3 6-0.
There was no upset though for 7th seed Elina Svitolina who edged past Sachia Vickery 6-3 1-6 6-1. The Ukrainian did lose a little concentration in the second set but survived through some great athleticism. The 23 year old still hasn’t reached the semi-finals of a grand slam. She will now play Tatjana Maria or Agnieszka Radwanska in the second round.
