Barbora Krejcikova was required to dig very deep to take down Taylor Townsend in the Round of 16 at this year's US Open.
The Czech produced immense fight and resistance as she saved eight match points on her way to a 1-6 7-6 (15-13) 6-3 win on Sunday (August 31).
Townsend recently earned the support of the New York crowd after taking down seeded players Jelena Ostapenko (25) and Mirra Andreeva (5) in the previous two rounds.
The American hopeful seemed to be on her way to the quarter-finals after an extremely dominant showing in the opening set.
Townsend then had the first of her match points while leading 5-4 during the 10th game of the second set.
However, Krejcikova was able to hold her serve in front of the Townsend-backed crowd, with the set eventually heading for a tie break.
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Townsend led 6-3 in the tie break at one point, giving her three consecutive chances to finish the game off. She failed to convert those and would go on to squander a further four match point opportunities as Krejcikova simply failed to give in.
After coming out on top in a remarkable back-and-forth tie break, Krejcikova carried the momentum through into the final set and landed the decisive break in the eighth game to lead 5-3.
The two-time Grand Slam winner served out the match in the following game to secure a spot in the last eight at Flushing Meadows for the first time since 2021.
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Krejcikova's reaction to her outstanding victory in New York
Immediately after coming through her Round of 16 contest, Krejcikova expressed sheer delight at her big victory as injury problems had hampered the early months of the 2025 season for her.
"What a match. Just four months ago I was off the court, I couldn't play. I had a huge pain in my back. I didn't know if I'll ever be back," the 29-year-old said in her on-court interview.
"Now here I am and this is huge. I still cannot believe that I'm standing here," she added.
Krecikova's win over Townsend is her second consecutive triumph over an American at this year's US Open, as she defeated 10th seed Emma Navarro in the third round.
The Czech will have to beat another home favourite if she wants to make it to the final four in New York, as she will now take on fourth seed and last year's runner-up, Jessica Pegula, in the quarter-finals.