New Zealand tennis No.1 Marina Erakovic has been upset by wildcard Kristina Mladenovic in the opening round of the US Open.
In her first meeting with the 19-year-old Frenchwoman, Erakovic was beaten 7-5 6-4 in an hour and 48 minutes.
With a ranking of 54, almost 100 places above Mladenovic, the 24-year-old Aucklander had gone in as favourite and got an early break.
But Mladenovic, who sent down a total of 10 aces and 10 winners during the match, fought back with two breaks of her own to take the first set.
Erakovic found herself down an early break in the second set, was able to level, but then dropped her serve again to bow out of the singles event.
She now turns her attention to the doubles, where she is partnered with Briton Heather Watson.
The pair have been in excellent form, grabbing two WTA Tour titles over the past two months.
Their first round opponents are the sixth-seeded Russian combination of Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina.
Erakovic knows Vesnina well, having won one of her seven WTA doubles titles with her.
NZN