Taylor Townsend delivers massive upset in second round of 2019 U.S. Open

Taylor Townsend of Chicago, IL delivered one of the most impressive wins of her tennis career on Thursday during the second round of the 2019 United States Open. The 23 year-old advanced to the third round of a major for the second time in her career when she stunned the fourth ranked player of the world and Wimbledon champion Simona Halep of Romania 2-6, 6-3, 7-6. Halep is in fact a two-time major champion as she also won the 2018 French Open.

In Townsend’s win over Halep, it went down to the wire as a third set tiebreak was the difference. There Townsend defeated Halep 7-4.

This was the first time that Townsend reached the third round of a major since the 2014 French Open. That year she beat Vania King of Monterey Park, CA 7-5, 6-1 and 20th ranked Alize Cornet of France 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 as a wildcard.

Townsend has won seven other singles matches at grand slam tournaments. She beat Amandine Hesse of France 6-2, 6-1 in the first round of the 2016 French Open, Miyu Kato of Japan 6-4, 6-0 in the first round of the 2017 French Open, Myrtille Georges of France 6-4, 6-2 in the first round of the 2018 French Open, Pauline Parmentier of France 6-2, 6-4 in the first round of 2018 Wimbledon, Amanda Anisimova of Freehold Township, NJ 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 in the first round of the 2018 United States Open, Arina Rodionova of Australia 6-2, 6-3 in the first round of 2019 Wimbledon and Kateryna Kozlova 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 in the first round of the 2019 United States Open.

Townsend was one of two Americans to beat a seeded player. The other was Denis Kudla of Arlington, VA who beat 27th ranked Dusan Lajovic of Serbia 7-5, 7-5, 0-6, 6-3. Things will be tough for Kudla in the third round however as he is up against world number one Novak Djokovic of Serbia.

There were five other Americans to win their second round singles match on Thursday. Fourteenth ranked John Isner of Greensboro, NC beat the impressive German Jan-Lennard Struff 6-3, 7-6, 7-6, Tennys Sandgren of Gallatin, TN beat Vasek Pospisil of Canada 6-3, 6-7, 6-3, 6-4, 15 year-old Coco Gauff of Delray Beach, FL beat Timea Babos of Hungary 6-2, 4-6, 6-4, 20th ranked Sofia Kenin of Pembroke Pines, FL beat Laura Siegemund of Germany 7-6, 6-0, and the 141st ranked Kristie Ahn of Upper Saddle River, NJ beat Anna Kalinskaya of Russia 6-2, 6-3.