NEW YORK — Barbora Krejcikova fought off eight match points in a second set that ended with a 25-minute tiebreaker before outlasting American Taylor Townsend 1-6, 7-6 (13), 6-3 in a back-and-forth thriller Sunday at the US Open.
With fans chanting «Let's go Taylor! Let's go Taylor!» for a player who became a fan favorite during the tournament after her confrontation with Jelena Ostapenko following her second-round victory, Townsend was repeatedly a point away from what would have been her first Grand Slam quarterfinal.
Townsend was -4000 at ESPN BET when up 6-3 in the second-set tiebreak; Krejcikova, facing triple match point, was +1200.
But Krejcikova, a two-time Grand Slam singles champion, erased seven match points in the tiebreaker, broke Townsend's serve twice in the third set and advanced to face No. 4 seed Jessica Pegula on Tuesday.
• 98 minutes, longest set of this women's singles draw
• Longer than either of Townsend's last two full matches (76 minutes each)
• Longer than Carlos Alcaraz's 2nd-round match (three sets in 96 minutes)
• Tiebreak ended 15-13, longest tiebreak in men's or women's singles this week
• Krejcikova saved 8 match points (one down 5-4, seven in tiebreak)
• Krejcikova won on her 4th set point (all in tiebreak)
• After set was tied 5-5, each player broke the other to get into tiebreak
— ESPN Research
It will be Krejcikova's sixth career major quarterfinal appearance and first since winning Wimbledon in 2024. She has now reached the quarterfinal stage of a Slam in four of the past five years, 2023 the lone exception.
Townsend hugged Krejcikova at the net after the match, then sat in her sideline chair and began crying before leaving the court to a standing ovation as she dabbed her eyes with
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