Daria Snigur, a qualifier from Ukraine, had the best performance of her career on Monday to defeat Simona Halep, a two-time champion of the Grand Slam tournament. Snigur defeated Halep 6-2, 0-6 and 6-4 in the first round of the U.S. Open.
Snigur, who is just 20 years old, displayed maturity beyond her years when she broke Halep in the first game and again in the third as she capitalised on an increasing amount of unforced mistakes made by the Romanian. Halep was broken both times.
In contrast, Snigur’s performance was a total disaster in the second set, during which Halep raced through the remaining six games in only twenty-four minutes, earning roars of appreciation from the audience at Lois Armstrong Stadium.
But Halep was unable to keep up the momentum she had gained earlier this month when she triumphed for a third time at the Canadian Open and then withdrew from the Cincinnati Open due to an injury. Halep lost her service in both the first and fifth games of the match. continue reading
The 30-year-old player survived the eighth game by breaking Snigur, which kept him in the match, then survived two match points in the ninth game.
Snigur, however, preserved her composure and completed the task without breaking down in tears. After that, she wrapped her hands into the shape of a heart around the Ukrainian ribbon that was attached to her blouse.
During an on-court interview, she said, with her voice trembling, “I’m very, very, very frightened but I did my best to do what needed to be done.” I want to express my gratitude to each and every one of you on behalf of Ukraine and my family.
