World number one Simona Halep has been knocked out in the US Open first round, losing 6-2 6-4 to Kaia Kanepi.
The Romanian’s serve was broken five times as she fell to a shock defeat in the first match on the new Louis Armstrong Stadium at Flushing Meadows.
She fought back from a double break down to 4-4 in the second set but the Estonian broke again before Halep sent a forehand long on match point.
Halep is the first top-seeded woman to lose in the first round in New York.
Before Monday’s defeat, no women’s top seed had lost in the opening round at the US Open since the professional era began in 1968, the same year that the tournament was given its current name, having previously been known as the US National Championships.
World number 44 Kanepi, 33, reached the quarter-finals at Flushing Meadows last year but has had a succession of injury problems in recent years.
BBC