NEW YORK -- The pressure built slowly on this already oppressively hot Monday at the US Open, changing the narrative unfolding in Louis Armstrong stadium. Top-ranked and top-seeded Simona Halep was awarded the honor of playing the inaugural match in the brand new stadium, but things went sideways from the very start.
Kaia Kanepi, a 5-foot-11 Estonian with a bruising power game, led Halep 6-2, and already had a break at 1-0. She served the first point of the next game to Halep's forehand and crushed the return, preempting a rally.
Halep took a step, paused as if thinking things over, then exploded: She smashed her racket into the court twice, and just as quickly straightened up and calmly walked toward her chair, wiping her brow with her wristband.