Simona Halep has shown good form in recent weeks and returned to the top 10 of the world rankings, but was eliminated in the first round of the US Open. The Romanian lost by 1-2 (2:6, 6:0, 4:6) to 20-year-old Daria Snigur, who went through the qualifiers to enter the main draw of the tournament. The Ukrainian showed a great will to win and after nearly two hours of play, she reached the final success.
Daria Snigur, number 124 in the world, will face the winner of the match between Magdalena Frech and Rebecca Marino in the second round.
“Of course, I am very happy. I did something amazing. Thanks to Simona for the great match we made. This victory is for Ukraine, for my family, and for all those who support me”, said Daria Snigur through tears.
The Ukrainian started the match very aggressively and made two breaks. Simona Halep gradually got into a rhythm and closed her gap, but she continued to be unstable on her serve and the first set went to her rival.
The former leader in the world rankings changed her approach and quickly took a 4:0 lead in the second part. Daria Snigur had no answer to the Romanian’s precise shots and was unable to take a single game.
However, in the decisive third set, the situation on the court changed radically. Daria Snigur deflected a breakpoint and used her impetus to pull ahead 4:1. The young Ukrainian missed two match points on Simona Halep’s serve, but did not flinch and closed the match in the next game.
In the other matches, Veronika Kudermetova advanced to the second round after winning versus Donna Vekic by 2-0 (7:5, 6:3). The third-seeded Maria Sakkari had a difficult win versus Tatjana Maria, but succeeded to qualify for the next round after a victory by 2-1 (6:4, 3:6, 6:0).
Anna Kalinskaya, Caroline Garcia, Bianca Vanessa Andreescu and Alison Riske also advanced for the second round.
