Along with the crowd’s favor, Townsend had the advantage of having three qualifying matches under her belt, which she cruised through in straight sets. The world No. 146 has struggled with both form and injuries since first appearing in the spotlight two years ago, when she reached the third round of the 2014 French Open as a bright-eyed 18-year-old. The breakthrough didn’t spell further success, as her ranking slipped out of the Top 300 in 2015 after reaching a career-high of No. 94 that February.
Townsend’s inexperience showed early in the second set. Every shot from her racquet played right into Wozniacki’s steady baseliner strategy. The Dane raced ahead to a 3-0 lead as Townsend’s form dipped; the American hit just two winners and 10 unforced errors. Townsend relied heavily on flashy plays filled with sharp-angled forehands and crafty drop shots—a difficult style of play to maintain for a player of any caliber, and especially when playing the Wozniacki, a counterpunching extraordinaire. She handily raced away with the second set, 6-3.
As the temperatures rose into the 90s, with nowhere to hide in the Grandstand. While Townsend has often been criticized for her fitness, Wozniacki has only been lauded for hers. A lengthy third set certainly worked in Wozniacki’s favor, but she was too rusty to make it easy for herself. Still, she got the critical break at 4-4 by doing what she does best: stay patient. In the final set, Townsend would hit seven winners to 20 unforced errors. Wozniacki, on the other hand, was so consistent throughout all three sets that she kept both winners and unforced errors under 10.
"Obviously she stayed steady, which is her game," Townsend said. "There are a lot of different points that I feel like if I could have done something different or if I made a different decision that it could have maybe changed the outcome."
At deuce, up 5-4, Wozniacki ripped a huge forehand of her own to earn match point. A wide, sprayed forehand from Townsend handed her the match after two hours and 12 minutes.
