New York: World number one Simona Halep was swept aside 6-2, 6-4 by 44th-ranked Kaia Kanepi yesterday, the first top-seeded woman ever to lose in the US Open first round.
It was the kind of Grand Slam history Halep could have done without as she tried to expunge the memory of her first round loss to Maria Sharapova at Flushing Meadows last year.
But the Romanian, who broke through for a first Grand Slam title at the French Open this year, had no answer for Kanepi’s power.
The Estonian fired 26 winners to Halep’s nine, and even her 28 unforced errors weren’t enough to derail her challenge as she cut the rallies short and remorselessly punished Halep’s second serve.
“I thought I just have to be aggressive and try to stay calm,” said Kanepi, whose run to the quarter-finals last year is just one of her six trips to the last eight in majors – although she has never gone farther.
Kanepi earned a second-round meeting with Swiss qualifier Jil Teichmann, a 6-3, 6-0 winner over Dalila Jakupovic in her first appearance in a Grand Slam main draw.
In other early matches in the women’s section, Spain’s 12th seed Garbine Muguruza eased past China’s Shuai Zhang 6-3, 6-0 while eighth seed Karolina Pliskova of Czech Republic held off Kazakhstan’s Zarina Diyas 6-4, 7-6 (7-4).
In the men’s section, Briton Andy Murray beat Australia’s James Duckworth 6-7(5) 6-3 7-5 6-3 in a fiery match marked by long rallies in sweltering heat.
It was Murray’s first appearance in a Grand Slam since last year’s Wimbledon quarter-finals, nearly a year since he underwent hip surgery.
Duckworth, who has also struggled with injuries, clawed his way back in the first set against a visibly frustrated Murray who dug deep to take the next three sets.
Swiss wildcard Stan Wawrinka swept past eighth seeded Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov 6-3 6-2 7-5 to kick-off action at Arthur Ashe Stadium with an upset.
Wawrinka will next face either Ugo Humbert of France or Colin Altamirano of the United States for a place in the last 32.
Jack Sock advanced to the second round defeating Argentina’s Guido Andreozzi in straight sets - 6-0, 7-6(4), 6-2 – breaking a frustrating streak of first-round men’s singles knockouts for the American in the last four Grand Slams.
Sock sailed through the first set in just 20 minutes, then battled through four tiebreaks to take the second, before dominating the third with a power serve reaching 133 miles per hour.
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