Signs of turbulence swirled all around Taylor Townsend today. The American teenager's 4-1 second-set lead had dissolved and her 4-1 third-set lead was fading fast, as exuberant fans erupted in the wave while chanting support for hard-charging Alize Cornet. The French No. 1 had fought off four match points and was within a couple of points of leveling the decider as showers spit down from above.
The 18-year-old Townsend took it all in, took a deep breath, and then closed the curtain on Cornet's comeback.
In a match of wild momentum shifts and dazzling shotmaking, Townsend kept her cool in posting a dramatic 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 victory that spanned two hours and 28 minutes and propelled her into the third round of the French Open—in her maiden major.
On a day in which a trio of American women—reigning champion Serena Williams, former finalist Venus Williams and Varvara Lepchenko—all bit the dust, the youngest and lowest-ranked woman still standing signaled her arrival in Paris. Combining a sledgehammer forehand with sculptor's feel around net and a knack for the massive strike, the 205th-ranked Townsend cracked more than twice as many winners (43 to 18) as the No. 20 seed in earning her 12th consecutive win.
Townsend, who won 21 of 30 trips to net, set the tone for her all-court attack in the warm-up, immediately moving to net to practice volleys and overheads rather than retreating to the baseline. Then she took the match to Cornet, breaking for a 2-1 lead.
Cornet saved three break points for 3-4, then broke back. The Nice native's two-handed backhand is her best shot, but feeds directly into Townsend's lethal lefty forehand. Twenty of Townsend's winners came off that wing, a shot she can curl into the corners with heavier spin, bend into short angles or flatten down the line.
Townsend blasted a forehand drive down the line to break for 5-4, then swooped in and planted a high forehand volley down the line to seize the opening set with a firm "Come on!"
