Kaia Kanepi Upsets Top Seed and Favorite Simona Halep

Kaia Kanepi is moving on at the 2018 US Open after upsetting the major tournament’s top seed in world number one Simona Halep.

Kaia Kanepi pulls off the biggest upset of the 2018 US Open so far. In fact, it might go down as the biggest throughout the entire Grand Slam. She defeats top seed and recent French Open champion Simona Halep in the round of 128, winning 6-2 6-4.

Halep has maintained her control over the WTA Tour this year since swapping the top ranking with Caroline Wozniacki at the start of 2018. She followed up her early 2018 success with a French Open title, giving her a Grand Slam singles title for the first time ever. The Romanian tennis star entered Flushing Meadows as a definite favorite for the title.

So, who is Kaia Kanepi?

The Estonian tennis player is a veteran on the WTA Tour. At 33-years-old, she has a good amount of experience under her belt, even reaching as high as the world number 15 ranking back in 2012. She has four career WTA singles titles to her name to go along with 14 ITF wins. In short, Kanepi is a strong veteran who can never be discounted.

Kaia Kanepi pulls off the shocking upset over Simona Halep in the opening round of the 2018 US Open. She advances with a chance to keep her dream run alive at Flushing Meadows.

While Kaia Kanepi can enjoy her win for a brief amount of time, she will get refocused for her upcoming match with Swiss qualifier Jil Teichmann. Other favorites on the women’s singles side that remain alive include defending champion Sloane Stephens among others. She rolls through to the second of play. Wozniacki is in action tomorrow at the US Open. Venus Williams and Elina Svitolina also both win their opening round matches at Flushing Meadows.