'Nobody saw that coming' - Reaction to Simona Halep crashing out at US Open in 'big disappointment'

Eurosport's Barbara Schett and Mats Wilander have given their reaction to Simona Halep suffering a «big disappointment» in losing in the first round of the US Open to Daria Snigur. Halep, who has not reached the semi-finals at Flushing Meadows since 2015, struggled from the outset as she suffered a shock 2-6 6-0 3-6 defeat against the world No. 124 qualifier.

Ad The 30-year-old has always found the US Open to be her worst Grand Slam, but even having that as context did not prepare anyone for the surprise result after she had been considered a potential contender for the title. US OpenHalep dumped out in first round after shock defeat to qualifier Snigur13 HOURS AGO The 20-year-old Snigur appeared to be on course to lose the match when Halep roared back to win the second set with a bagel, but somehow the momentum shifted dramatically once more and it was the Romanian who crashed out. Schett and Wilander were stunned by what they witnessed and despite knowing Halep's poor record at Flushing Meadows, found it hard to comprehend how she had lost in the opening round to a qualifier.

«It’s a big disappointment for Halep to lose against Snigur, for whom it was the first time in the main draw at a Grand Slam – nobody saw that coming,» Schett said. «I felt like Simona made a lot of unforced errors today. I thought this was the year that she could do some damage.

»She won the tournament in Toronto so I thought this could be her time but it seems like the US Open and Simona Halep never seem to go well together. «She just has to look ahead to next year, hopefully, she stays motivated, she has found her passion for tennis again and it’s about going back to the practice courts and looking forwards. But there’s no doubt this was