Taylor Townsend fires back at Jelena Ostapenko after knocking her out of the US Open, ‘I’m looking forward to it’

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Taylor Townsend was fired up after beating Jelena Ostapenko at the US Open.

The 29-year-old took on the Latvian for a spot in the third round of her home Grand Slam.

Townsend defeated Ostapenko for the second time in her career after coming through a tough first set before storming through set two to win 7-5, 6-1.

But it was what transpired after the contest that left fans shocked and the entire tennis world has been talking about it.

Taylor Townsend lays down a challenge to Jelena Ostapenko after beating her at the US Open

After Taylor Townsend beat Jelena Ostapenko, the handshake between the pair was anything but warm.

The two players engaged in a tense exchange after Ostapenko accused Townsend of not apologising after winning a point via a net cord. Townsend could be heard saying to Ostapenko “you can learn how to take a loss.”

Post-match, Townsend claimed the former top 10 player said she had “no class” and “no education, wait until we’re outside of the U.S.”

During an interview with ESPN, Townsend recalled beating Ostapenko outside of the US before and she welcomes the challenge of trying to do it again.

“I’m looking forward to it. I beat her in Canada outside the U.S, so let’s see what else she says.” She added: “She was playing really well at the beginning and when she was playing well, I didn’t say anything, that just shows class.

“Sometimes people are playing too good and you have to just take it. But I turned it up another level and that is what I am most proud of today.”

Taylor Townsend wins nine successive games on the way to defeating Jelena Ostapenko at the US Open

Townsend was trailing the first 3-5 against Ostapenko, before she raised her level in a major way.

Townsend won nine successive games to take control of the match and went on to seal an excellent victory at the US Open.

The argument with Ostapenko post-match has somewhat overshadowed the result, and in her press conference, Townsend elaborated on the incident.

“I didn’t back down because you’re not going to insult me, especially after I carried myself a certain type of way with nothing but respect,” said Townsend, who plays Mirra Andreeva in the third round.

“If I show respect to you, I expect respect as well. That’s just the fact of the matter. I think that that’s tennis. It was unfortunate, but it’s something I can put on my TikTok.”