Ukrainian qualifer Snigur stuns seventh seed Halep, into second round

Daria Snigur edged out Simona Halep 6-2, 0-6, 6-4 on Monday. She’ll face the winner of the match between Pole Magdalena Frech and Canadian Rebecca Marino in the next round

Simona Halep, 2022 | © Zuma / Panoramic

Carrie Dunn

August 29, 2022

Ukrainian qualifier Daria Snigur reached the second round of the US Open by edging out Romanian Simona Halep, the No 7 seed, 6-2, 0-6, 6-4 at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York City on Monday.

Celebrating her win, the 2019 Junior Wimbledon champion made the shape of a heart around the Ukrainian ribbon she was wearing on her dress.

Take it in, Daria Snigur!

What a moment 😍 pic.twitter.com/Of6TV1MDjt
— US Open Tennis (@usopen) August 29, 2022

Snigur’s Grand Slam main draw debut

The 20-year-old made her bow on Louis Armstrong Stadium last week as part of the Tennis Plays for Peace exhibition – while she was still progressing through qualifying.

And nerves would have been understandable – perhaps they contributed towards her dropping two match points against Halep in her first effort to serve it out.

Daria Snigur, US Open 2022 | © Seth Wenig/AP/SIPA

This is Snigur’s Grand Slam main draw debut, and her first-ever match against an opponent ranked in the Top 10. Currently the world No 124, she is at a career-high ranking.

Snigur will play the winner of the match between Pole Magdalena Frech and Canadian Rebecca Marino next.

How Halep collapsed at Roland-Garros

Halep withdrew from her round of 32 match against Veronika Kudermetova in Cincinnati a fortnight ago.

She won the title at the Canadian Masters earlier in August, and reached the last four of Wimbledon, losing to eventual chamption Elena Rybakina in the semi-final.

Those watching her disappointing display in New York, though, might be reminded of her collapse in the Roland-Garros second round earlier this year, losing to Qinwen Zheng 2-6, 6-2, 6-1, and describing her feelings on court as “panic attack”.