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The US Open has only just started but already the women’s world number one is out of the tournament.
Simona Halep fell in the first round for the second consecutive year, going down to Estonia’s Kaia Kanepi in straight sets, in the first match on the newly-opened Louis Armstrong Stadium.
Kanepi, twice a quarter-finalist (including last year) at Flushing Meadows and a former world number 15, broke early in the opening set and then once more en route to taking the opening set 6-2.
After being broken in the eighth game of the second, the Estonian broke in the ninth game before successfully serving out the win when Halep returned a serve long on match point.
It wasn’t without its controversy, with the 26-year-old copping a code violation from the chair umpire for smashing her racquet on the court during the second game of the second set.
It marks the first time in US Open history that a women’s top seed has fallen in the opening round, and it also marks the earliest defeat by a top seed at Flushing Meadows since 2008, when recently-minted French Open champion Ana Ivanovic fell to world number 188 Julie Coin in the second round.
Like Ivanovic a decade ago, Halep had been beaten in the Australian Open final earlier in the year, but was able to take out her maiden Grand Slam title at Roland Garros.
Similarly, Halep’s Grand Slam form deteriorated following her title run in Paris, losing in the third round at the All England Club.
Ivanovic’s 2008 and Halep’s 2018 GS performances are actually similar:
Ana:
AO- RU
FO- ????
W- 3r
UO- 2rSimona:
AO- RU
FO- ????
W- 3r
UO- 1r https://t.co/0tNA7ggne3— tennistweetsBG (@tennistweetsbg) August 27, 2018
It will also mark the first time since 2009 that a women’s top seed will not reach the quarter-finals in New York, and Halep’s defeat comes 12 months after she went down to Maria Sharapova in her opening match in three sets.
Former world number two Agnieszka Radwanska was the other notable casualty, as she went down to Tatjana Maria in straight sets.
There were no such problems for the Williams sisters. Serena, who missed last year’s tournament as she prepared for the birth of her daughter, defeated Poland’s Magda Linette in straight sets, while Venus was stretched to her limits against 2004 champion Svetlana Kuznetsova, prevailing in three.
If both win their next matches, not only will they face off in the third round, whoever wins that match will not have to face a seed in the fourth round, after 27th seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova went down to Swede Rebecca Peterson in three sets.
Defending champion Sloane Stephens avoided the embarrassment Angelique Kerber suffered last year, defeating Evgeniya Rodina in straight sets, while seventh seed Elina Svitolina, eighth seed Karolina Pliskova and 12th seed Garbine Muguruza were also victorious.
It was also a promising start for Australian pair Ashleigh Barty and Daria Gavrilova, who enjoyed straight-sets wins over Ons Jabeur and Sara Sorribes Tormo, respectively.
Gavrilova was very impressive, recording the first double-bagel by an Australian player in New York since Evonne Goolagong Cawley dished out the same punishment to Peggy Michel in 1975.
The 2010 junior champion now goes on to face former world number one Victoria Azarenka, who made light work of Viktoria Kuzmova, winning in straight sets.
Daria Gavrilova (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
Meanwhile, on the men’s side, Rafael Nadal’s title defence passed its first test, but not in the circumstances he would have wanted.
The Spaniard progressed after his compatriot, David Ferrer, retired at 4-3 down in the second set after he had dropped the opening set 6-3.
It was a sad way for Ferrer, beaten by Nadal in the 2013 French Open final, to bow out of the Grand Slam stage, having flagged his intentions to retire during the Spanish clay court swing next year. It means he will bypass the Australian Open, where he was twice a semi-finalist, in 2011 and 2013.
2016 champion Stan Wawrinka progressed after upsetting Grigor Dimitrov for the second consecutive time at a Major this year, winning in straight sets to back up his four-set win at the All England Club last month.
Last year’s beaten finalist, Kevin Anderson, was stretched by Ryan Harrison, coming from two sets to one down to win in five, while the likes of Dominic Thiem, Juan Martin del Potro and Andy Murray also progressed.
Murray, whose ranking dropped into the 900s after nearly a year out with a serious hip injury, came from a set down to defeat Australian James Duckworth and set up a second-round clash with 31st seed Fernando Verdasco.
A win over the two-time US Open quarter-finalist would set up a likely third-round stoush with 2009 titlist del Potro, who was barely forced to sweat in a straight-sets victory over Donald Young and next faces another American, Denis Kudla, in the second round.
The bottom halves of both the men’s and women’s draws get underway Wednesday morning (AEST), with the highlight a huge first-round clash between 2011 champion Samantha Stosur and reigning Australian Open champion Caroline Wozniacki.
Five-time champion Roger Federer and two-time champion Novak Djokovic will also highlight the day’s play on Arthur Ashe Stadium, while Nick Kyrgios gets his campaign underway too.
Matches to watch on Day 2
Arthur Ashe Stadium
Day session – play starts at 12:00pm (2:00am AEST)
Samantha Stosur (AUS) vs [2] Caroline Wozniacki (DEN)
[6] Novak Djokovic (SRB) vs Marton Fucsovics (HUN)
Night session – play starts at 7:00pm (9:00am AEST)
Yoshihita Nishioka (JPN) vs [2] Roger Federer (SUI)
[14] Madison Keys (USA) vs Pauline Parmentier (FRA)
Louis Armstrong Stadium
Day session – play starts at 11:00am (1:00am AEST)
Andrea Petkovic (GER) vs [10] Jelena Ostapenko (LAT)
Margarita Gasparyan (RUS) vs [4] Angelique Kerber (GER)
Peter Polansky (CAN) vs [4] Alexander Zverev (GER)
Night session – play starts at 7:00pm (9:00am AEST)
[30] Nick Kyrgios (AUS) vs Radu Albot (MDA)
[22] Maria Sharapova (RUS) vs Patty Schnyder (SUI)
Grandstand
[6] Caroline Garcia (FRA) vs Johanna Konta (GBR)
Court 17
[5] Petra Kvitova (CZE) vs Yanina Wickmayer (BEL)
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