Taylor Townsend hits the road after Toronto quarterfinal to make Cincinnati qualifying on time

Taylor Townsend became a fan favorite in her run to the quarterfinals of the National Bank Open in Toronto this week as a lucky loser—but in the aftermath, she's become even more of one for her raw and real take on the difficulties of traveling between tennis tournaments.

Townsend lost her match against fellow American Navarro on Saturday afternoon, and needed to find a way to Mason, Ohio's Lindner Family Tennis Cetner in less than 24 hours to play her first-round qualifying match at 5 p.m. on Sunday.

The quick turnaround, let alone the projected cost, left her at her wit's end.

"I am so overwhelmed. This is the sh-- that people don't see," Townsend posted in a video to her Instagram account after losing to Navarro in her first tour-level, and WTA 1000, quarterfinal.

With flights costing a whopping $1,400 per person, the American and her traveling party decided to rent a car and drive the nearly 500 miles between the two cities.

The group eventually left Toronto and hit the road at 9 p.m. Saturday night, and arrived in Cinncinati at 5 a.m. after driving through the night, while Townsend "[slept] in the car."

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"Just [need to] figure out a way to get my sh-- together and get myself together and play," she said.

Townsend's mad dash proved fruitful. Seeded No. 12 in qualifying, she earned a 6-3, 6-4 win over France's Chloe Paquet and will face No. 4 qualifying seed Katie Volynets on Monday for a spot in the main draw.

"Powered through the day and got the W," Townsend posted after the match.

Townsend got a "tip of the cap" from Paul Annacone, Jon Wertheim and Steve Weissman on Sunday night's episode of Tennis Channel Live.

"That's a heck of an effort," Annacone said. "Welcome to the world of tennis ... that's how we live."