'Welcome to the show': Townsend upsets Andreeva under the lights in New York

Six years after upsetting Simona Halep on Arthur Ashe Stadium, Taylor Townsend pulled off another Top 5 upset at the US Open, knocking out Mirra Andreeva to reach the fourth round for a second time.

NEW YORK -- Under the lights of Arthur Ashe Stadium, Taylor Townsend delivered one of the biggest surprises of the US Open, ousting No. 5 Mirra Andreeva 7-5, 6-2 in the third round.

Constantly moving forward and attacking, taking Andreeva out of her rhythm and serving impeccably, Townsend cruised to her third career Top 10 win, the first in more than two years.

It was over in 76 minutes.

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The postmatch handshake -- it was really just a meeting of hands -- passed quickly without incident.

“This feels good,” Townsend said in her on-court interview, clearly meaning it. “All I’m going to say is welcome to the show.

“I’m really just proud I kept amazing amazing.”

The 29-year-old American is more celebrated for her doubles play -- she’s ranked No. 1 and is the reigning Australian Open champion with Katerina Siniakova.

But Townsend pulled off her first Top 10 win here six years ago, upsetting Simona Halep en route to the fourth round (losing to eventual champion Bianca Andreescu). She has impressed with her singles play this summer, advancing to the quarterfinals in Washington, D.C., as a qualifier and the third round in Cincinnati. In New York, Townsend beat Antonia Ruzic and No. 25 seed Jelena Ostapenko to reach the third round before notching her third career Top 10 win over Andreeva.

To Townsend, the circumstances this year were totally unlike her 2019 breakthrough.

"In 2019 I felt like I was climbing, and I was trying to get over the hump," she said. "There were so many opportunities where I almost got there and didn't get it, almost got there and didn't get it. I felt like that match, when I played Halep was a turning point for me where I got over that hump of finally just, I got one, you know what I'm saying?

"I just felt like it helped validate me as a player, and then I was able to continue, and then I ended up losing to Bianca in three sets and she ended up winning the tournament.

"This time it just feels completely different. I wasn't searching for anything, I wasn't looking, trying to find answers; I had all the answers in here. I was so confident and so sure of myself and what I was doing and how I was executing, that it didn't matter if I hit the back fence, hit the bottom of the net, it didn't matter. I just kept going.

"So it just felt completely different. I'm a totally different person than I was in 2019, and I think that that showed. That's what's really cool about tennis in these moments, you're able to reflect and look even at the mannerisms and how I carried myself then and now, you'll be able to see it's a different woman."

Townsend will play two-time major champion Barbora Krejcikova, a 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 winner over No. 10 Emma Navarro in a fourth-round match on Sunday. They're frequent rivals on the doubles court -- Krejcikova and Siniakova defeated Townsend and Caty McNally in the 2022 US Open final, and Krejcikova leads the doubles head-to-head 4-1 -- but have only met once in singles. That was all the way back in 2017, in the first round of an ITF W60 in Launceston, Australia. Krejcikova won 6-7(2), 6-2, 6-2.

On Wednesday night, after losing to Townsend 7-5, 6-1, Ostapenko confronted her at the net, clearly agitated and questioning her conduct and character.

Townsend, to her credit, took the high road.

“There’s no beef on my side,” she said. “It’s competition. People get upset when they lose. But you’re not going to insult me, especially after I carried myself a certain type of way with nothing but respect. If I show respect to you, I expect respect as well.”

And after defeating Andreeva, she said she had moved on.

"I had doubles the next day," Townsend said. "So I had to get right back on the page, because at the end of the day, I would never allow any drama or anything on the outside to deter me from what my goal is when I step into the lines on the court. When I step into those gates, nothing that's happening on the outside matters ...

"I also really took the time to be intentional. To, like, shut it off. When I got to the hotel I said, 'OK, I'm done.' I put my phone down and I put it on 'do not disturb.' I stopped. In the morning I cut it off. So when it's time to do the job, it's time to do the job. And that's what I think is a testament to being professional, being able to block out what's on the outside and when you step in the lines you handle business."

It was the third incident of the fortnight regarding a breach of sportsmanship.

Daniil Medvedev was fined $42,500 for unsportsmanlike conduct and racket abuse following his first-round loss. Stefanos Tsitsipas confronted Daniel Altmaier about his underarm serving after a second-round loss.

After moving into the fourth round, No. 4 seed Jessica Pegula was asked about the unusual rash of post-match outbursts.

“Lots of drama,” she said, laughing. “My matches have been pretty no drama, so I’m not really sure what’s going on with everybody else. It’s just New York City tends to bring out just a lot of drama, I guess.

“I feel like the crowds, they’re pretty crazy. They kind of get everyone riled up. Everyone is tense. It’s the last slam of the season. Your last chance to go deep at a slam for a while. I think people maybe just get stressed out, and you’re out there competing and fighting and trying to win.”

On Friday, it was Townsend who competed stronger.

The first set, a rollicking affair, featured two early breaks of serve and, at 5-all, a third by Townsend. She served it out, finishing with a 109 mph serve that was not returned.

Andreeva came out fast in the second, breaking Townsend for a 2-0 lead, but just as swiftly it was 2-all. Townsend converted her second break point for 3-2 when Andreeva dropped a backhand into the net.

With Townsend leading 4-2, for the third straight time, Andreeva fell behind love-40 on her serve. But after clawing back to deuce, Townsend took advantage of a double fault and stroked a forehand pass for her fifth straight game that gave her an insurmountable 5-2 lead.

Afterward, Townsend thanked her coach John Williams and four-year-old son Adyn Aubrey. She had warm words for those who have supported her in the 48 hours since the Ostapenko incident.

“It’s bigger than me,” Townsend said. “It’s about the message, about the representation. You guys saw the real Taylor Townsend tonight.

“The job’s not done. We’re staying on business.”

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