Top Seed Simona Halep Stunned in First Round of 2018 US Open No. 1 ranked women's tennis player Simona Halep has been knocked out of the br U.S. Open in the first round. She fell in two sets — 6-2, 6-4 — to No. 44 Kaia Kanepi. In 34 career Grand Slam singles events, Halep has lost in the first round a staggering 12 times. Before Monday, she hadn’t lost an opening match at a tournament in 2018, something she did three times last year. Halep came into the tournament flying high after a string of big results during the U.S. Open series. Kanepi reached the quarterfinals in the Open last year — her best result at any Grand Slam.