Seventh seed Halep out of US Open

The 124th-ranked Snigur, making her Grand Slam main draw debut, won 6-2, 0-6, 6-4 against two-time major winner Halep who came into New York having won the prestigious Toronto title.

Simona Halep, of Romania, reacts during the first round of the US Open tennis championships against Daria Snigur. | Photo Credit: AP Photo/Seth Wenig

Former world number one Simona Halep was knocked out of the US Open in the first round on Monday, losing to Ukrainian qualifier Daria Snigur.

The 124th-ranked Snigur, making her Grand Slam main draw debut, won 6-2, 0-6, 6-4 against the two-time major winner who came into New York having won the prestigious Toronto title.

Snigur, wearing a ribbon in the colours of Ukraine on her shirt, will face Magdalena Frech of Poland or Canada's Rebecca Marino for a place in the last 32.

She held her nerve at the Louis Armstrong Stadium after seeing a 5-1 lead slip away in the final set before taking the tie on a third match point and breaking down in tears.