In Rome, 168th-ranked Taylor Townsend tops world No. 3 Jessica Pegula

MATCH POINT: Townsend topples Pegula in Rome

Just over a month ago, Jessica Pegula found herself down 4-0 in the third set of match, seemingly unable to win points, let alone games. Then, against Irina-Camelia Begu, Pegula incredibly won the next six games to snag an unlikely victory.

On Thursday, the setting couldn’t have been different—red clay in Rome, rather than green Har-Tru in Charleston—but Pegula found herself in a similar predicament. She trailed compatriot Taylor Townsend in the third set, 3-0, and was behind 0-30 on serve. En route to her roaring start, Townsend had won 12 of the set’s first 13 points, including a love break immediately followed by a love hold.

But while Pegula manage to stabilize, this deficit proved too much to overcome. The Internazionali BNL d’Italia’s first major upset saw the 168th-ranked singles player (and sixth-ranked doubles player) defeated the singles and doubles world No. 3, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3.

Townsend’s comfort on clay was evident throughout this second-rounder. She used her lefty topspin to pin Pegula deep, she came forward at times to force pinpoint responses, and she mixed in slice to keep the heavy favorite off-balance.

Such tennis—and a few too many balls that caught the baseline, in Pegula’s estimation—frustrated the top-ranked American, normally a paragon of powerful consistency. Pegula struck far more errors than customary, including five double faults.

But despite these struggles and Townsend’s level, when Pegula saved a match point at 2-5 and then held serve, the feeling was that just one break could change things drastically, as it did in Charleston.

“She just knows that it’s one break of serve. If she can find that window of opportunity and close it…” mused Olympic gold medalist Monica Puig, doing commentary for Tennis Channel. “If Townsend wobbles just a little bit, she could be back in this match in five minutes.”

But about two minutes later, Townsend reasserted herself, and held for the match at 15. The 27-year-old, who won her first match as a mother at this year’s Australian Open, scored just her second win over a Top 10 player.

“It was 100 percent mental for me. I knew I didn’t have anything to lose. I just felt super prepared,” said Townsend afterward. “I tried to stay as free as possible and have fun out there, and I did.”

Townsend finished with a touch volley that reminded us of her doubles excellence—and that the “any given day” credo applies to tennis as much as any sport.

“What a match she played,” said Puig. “She pretty much forced Pegula to feel uncomfortable today.”