Czech Republic’s Barbora Krejcikova and Taylor Townsend of the U.S. after their U.S. Open match on August 31, 2025.
| Photograph Credit score: Reuters
Barbora Krejcikova saved eight match factors in a gladiatorial duel with unseeded American Taylor Townsend, clawing her option to a dramatic 1-6 7-6(13) 6-3 victory on Sunday to safe a spot within the U.S. Open quarter-finals.
The 2-time Grand Slam champion mounted an exhilarating showcase of resilience in New York, clinching the win in a three-hour battle to increase her U.S. Open marketing campaign. She is going to now face one other American and final yr’s runner-up Jessica Pegula.
“I nonetheless can not imagine I am standing right here and having an interview with you,” Krejcikova mentioned.
“To be sincere I am completely having fun with this crowd, although it is not for me, it is for the Individuals, it is tremendous… I do know it is not for me, I want we had such a event within the Czech Republic.”
Townsend got here out firing, breaking Krejcikova twice early with sharp returning and clear ball-striking, whereas the Czech’s errors solely eased her path. The American by no means wavered on serve and broke once more to shut out the set in underneath half an hour.
The second set changed into a rollercoaster as Townsend broke early and regarded prepared to tug away, however a double fault helped Krejcikova break again.
From there they traded holds and tense moments, Townsend squandering the primary of her match factors on return earlier than Krejcikova did not serve out the set to power a nail-biting tiebreak.
The match reached peak drama as Townsend piled up match factors solely to look at them go begging by way of errors or see Krejcikova fend them off with gutsy winners.
The tiebreak changed into pure chaos. Townsend earned a triple match level at 6-3, however Krejcikova clawed again. Townsend then thought she had it gained on her fifth probability, solely to see the Czech’s forehand clip the road.
Krejcikova squandered three set factors of her personal earlier than she lastly transformed on her fourth alternative with an overhead smash to take it 15-13.
The 25-minute duel, the longest tiebreak of the event to date, had the gang buzzing, with different gamers pausing follow to look at the drama unfold on the screens.
Visibly fatigued within the third set, the pair traded breaks till the Czech seized the higher hand to serve for the match.
After lacking her first match level, Krejcikova transformed the second, leaving Townsend in tears because the Czech celebrated her hard-fought victory.
Printed – September 01, 2025 05:49 am IST
