Halep first No. 1 seed to lose opening match

NEW YORK » Simona Halep made a quick-as-can-be exit from the U.S. Open on Monday, becoming the first No. 1-seeded woman to lose her opening match at the Grand Slam tournament in the halfcentury of the professional era.

Halep simply was overwhelmed by the powerbased game of 44th-ranked Kaia Kanepi of Estonia 6-2, 6-4 in a match that was stunningly lopsided and lasted all of 76 minutes.

It was the first match at the rebuilt Louis Armstrong Stadium, which now has a retractable roof, and what a way to get things started. That cover was not needed to protect from rain on Day 1 at the year’s last major tournament — although some protection from the bright sun and its 90-degree (33-degree Celsius) heat might have been appreciated.

Since professionals were admitted to the Grand Slam tournaments in 1968, only five times did women who were seeded No. 1 lost their opening match at a major — and never before had it happened at the U.S. Open. It happened twice to Martina Hingis and once to Steffi Graf at Wimbledon, once to Angelique Kerber at the French Open and once to Virginia Ruzici at the Australian Open.

Halep won the French Open in June for her first Grand Slam title and is assured of remaining at No. 1 after the U.S. Open, even with her firstround departure. She got off to a slow start at Roland Garros this year, too, dropping her opening set, also by a 6-2 score, but ended up pulling out the victory there and adding six more to lift the trophy.

There would be no such turnaround for her against Kanepi, a big hitter who dictated the points to claim her second career win against a top-ranked player. Kanepi has shown the occasional ability to grab significant results, including a run to the quarterfinals at Flushing Meadows a year ago — when Halep also lost in the first round.

Kanepi took charge of baseline exchanges, compiling a 26-9 edge in winners, 14 on her favored forehand side alone. Wearing two strips of athletic tape on her left shoulder, the right-handed Kanepi also had far more unforced errors, 28-9, but that high-risk, high-reward style ultimately paid off.

In her first U.S. Open in two years, Serena Williams needed just 70 minutes to put together a 6-4, 6-0 victory over 68th-ranked Magda Linette of Poland.

The American, who turns 37 in September, did not seem to miss a beat. She hit six aces, won all eight of her service games and compiled a 23-9 edge in winners.

“It’s such a good feeling to be back out here,” said Williams, who improved to 18-0 in first-round matches at Flushing Meadows and 68-1 in openers at all Slams. “The first set was tight. It was my first back here in New York, so that wasn’t the easiest. Once I got settled, I started doing what I’m trying to do in practice.”

ANDRES KUDACKI — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Simona Halep returns a shot to Kaia Kanepi during the first round of the U.S. Open tennis tournament Aug. 27 in New York.