NEW YORK -- Barbora Krejcikova fought off eight match points in a second set that ended with a 25-minute tiebreaker before outlasting American Taylor Townsend 1-6, 7-6 (13), 6-3 in a back-and-forth thriller Sunday at the US Open.
With fans chanting "Let's go Taylor! Let's go Taylor!" for a player who became a fan favorite during the tournament after her confrontation with Jelena Ostapenko following her second-round victory, Townsend was repeatedly a point away from what would have been her first Grand Slam quarterfinal.
Townsend was -4000 at ESPN BET when up 6-3 in the second-set tiebreak; Krejcikova, facing triple match point, was +1200.
But Krejcikova, a two-time Grand Slam singles champion, erased seven match points in the tiebreaker, broke Townsend's serve twice in the third set and advanced to face No. 4 seed Jessica Pegula on Tuesday.
It will be Krejcikova's sixth career major quarterfinal appearance and first since winning Wimbledon in 2024. She has now reached the quarterfinal stage of a Slam in four of the past five years, 2023 the lone exception.
Townsend hugged Krejcikova at the net after their 3-hour, 4-minute match, then sat in her sideline chair and began crying before leaving the court to a standing ovation as she dabbed her eyes with a towel.
In her first 31st Grand Slam appearance, Townsend has never been closer to reaching the last eight. She lost to eventual champion Bianca Andreescu in 2019 in her only other fourth-round appearance.
Townsend remains in the women's doubles tournament as the No. 1-seeded team with Katerina Siniakova -- who won a career Grand Slam in doubles with Krejcikova during their partnership.
ESPN Research and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
