It only seemed as if Simona Halep made history Monday in a New York minute. Actually, it took all of 76 minutes for her to become the first No. 1 women’s seed in the history of the United States Open to lose in the first round, falling by 6-2, 6-4 to Kaia Kanepi.
As Halep’s trademark on-court soap operas go, the stunning upset was still swift, almost routine. Kanepi, a 33-year-old Estonian who is ranked No. 44, dominated a sluggish Halep in the first set before halting her rally to 4-4 from 0-3 in the second in the first main-draw match at the new Louis Armstrong Stadium.