Some players, like top-ranked Simona Halep, freely acknowledge they do not deal well with the hustle-and-bustle of the US Open and all it entails, while others, like 44th-ranked Kaia Kanepi, take to the tournament.
Put those two types at opposite ends of a court at Flushing Meadows and watch what can happen: Halep on Monday made a quick-as-can-be exit, overwhelmed by the power-based game of Kanepi 6-2, 6-4 to become the first No. 1 seeded woman to lose her opening match at the US Open in the half-century of the professional era.
On a Day 1 that featured the major tournament debut of 25-second serve clocks, Halep blamed opening-round jitters, a recurring theme throughout her career.
Photo: EPA
The reigning French Open champion has now lost her first match at 12-34 career major appearances, a stunningly high rate for such an accomplished player.
“It’s always about the nerves,” Halep said. “Even when you are there in the top, you feel the same nerves. You are human.”
Her departure means she cannot stand in the way of Serena Williams, who could have faced Halep in the fourth round.
Williams returned with a flourish, following singer Kelly Clarkson’s opening night performance in Arthur Ashe Stadium with a 6-4, 6-0 victory over Magda Linette under the lights.
“The first set was tight. It was my first back here in New York, so that wasn’t the easiest,” Williams told the crowd. “Once I got settled, I started doing what I’m trying to do in practice.”
Williams, a six-time winner at Flushing Meadows, moved a step closer to a possible third-round matchup against her older sister, two-time winner Venus, who defeated 2004 champion Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-3, 5-7, 6-3.
Others making the second round included defending champion Sloane Stephens, two-time finalist Victoria Azarenka and two-time major champ Garbine Muguruza.
Four seeded men lost, including No. 8 Grigor Dimitrov against three-time major champion Stan Wawrinka, No. 16 Kyle Edmund and No. 19 Roberto Bautista Agut.
Andy Murray, whose three major titles include the 2012 US Open, played his first Grand Slam match in more than a year and won, eliminating James Duckworth 6-7 (5/7), 6-3, 7-5, 6-3.
At night, defending champion Rafael Nadal advanced when the man he beat in the 2013 French Open final, David Ferrer, stopped in the second set because of an injury, while 2009 champ Juan Martin del Potro had no trouble dismissing Donald Young 6-0, 6-3, 6-4.
Halep’s loss was the first match at the rebuilt Louis Armstrong Stadium, which now has about 14,000 seats and a retractable roof. That cover was not needed to protect from rain — although some protection from the bright sun and the 33°C heat might have been in order.
“The courts suit my game and I love being in New York. I like the city,” said Kanepi, who is from Estonia. “I like the weather: humid and hot.”
However, several players had trouble in the heat, struggling with cramping or simply breathing.
Since professionals were first allowed to enter Grand Slam tournaments in 1968, only five times before Monday did women seeded No. 1 lose their opening match at a major — and never at the US Open.
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