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US Open: Halep first top seeded woman to exit in first round

August 28, 2018

It took just over an hour for the first shock of this year's US Open, as women's No. 1, Simona Halep crashed out in the first round. In the men's draw, Stan Wawrinka rolled back the years to beat Grigor Dimitrov.

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Tennis US open Simona Halep
Image: Getty Images/K. Betancur

Simona Halep of Romania (pictured above), christened the newly renovated Louis Armstrong Stadium with a shock 6-2, 6-4 loss to unseeded Estonian Kaia Kanepi on Monday, as the French Open champion bowed out at the first hurdle for the second consecutive year.

Kanepi's high-risk strategy paid off, as her 26 winners to Halep's nine compensated for a number of unforced errors. The Estonian polished off her more illustrious opponent in just 76 minutes in one of the opening matches on Day 1. Halep is the first female No. 1 seed to fall at the first hurdle of the US Open in the professional era.

"I have always loved being in New York," said the 33-year-old Kanepi, twice a quarterfinalist at the tournament but never ranked as high as world No.15.

"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."

Despite the loss, Halep can take small consolation from the fact she has amassed enough ranking points to remain at No. 1 after the tournament.

Stan the man once again

Former champion Stan Wawrinka rolled back the years to defeat eighth seed Grigor Dimitrov in a second successive Grand Slam.

Wawrinka, the 2016 winner who missed last year's tournament as he underwent two knee surgeries, swept to a 6-3, 6-2, 7-5 victory in Arthur Ashe Stadium to repeat his opening round triumph over the Bulgarian at Wimbledon.

"The last time I played on this great court, I won the title so it was great to be able to come back and play again," the 33-year-old Swiss said. "The level was really high, there were lots of emotions out there.

Later on Monday, former world No. 1 Andy Murray also progressed after an early scare. He marked his first Grand Slam appearance in an injury-hit 14 months with a 6-7 (5/7), 6-3, 7-5, 6-3 win over Australia's James Duckworth.

Germany's Mischa Zverev surrendered a two-set lead to fall 6-4, 6-2, 4-6 6-7 (2/7) 2-6 to 20-year-old American Taylor Fritz. Zverev's younger brother, Alexander, and Angelique Kerber, Germany's main hopes at the tournament, begin their campaigns on Tuesday.

mp/pfd (Reuters/AFP)