Andre Agassi’s former coach amazed by Taylor Townsend's victory over Jessica Pegula at Italian Open

Taylor Townsend’s second-round victory over compatriot Jessica Pegula at the 2023 Italian Open has elicited a strong reaction from Andre Agassi’s former coach Brad Gilbert. Townsend, the 168th-ranked player in the world, emerged triumphant over World No. 3 Pegula in a grueling three-setter 6-2, 3-6, 6-3.

This is the second top-10 win of Taylor Townsend's career. Her only other top-10 victory came against then-World No. 4 Simona Halep in the 2019 US Open second round.

Townsend trailed 0-2 in the first set against Pegula, but won seven consecutive games to take the first set 6-2 and lead 1-0 in the second. Pegula then mounted a comeback to level the match and force a third set by taking the second 6-3.

The 27-year-old Townsend, however, secured an early break in the third to go up 3-0. She eventually won the set 6-3 to seal a match that lasted 1 hour and 55 minutes.

Brad Gilbert, once the coach of Andre Agassi but now an an ESPN analyst, was impressed by Townsend’s victory. He voiced his amazement on social media.

“Just seeing live scores wow (star-eyed emoji) what a win for Taylor Townsend taking out Jpeg (Jessica Pegula), interesting she now has 3-1 H2H,” he tweeted.

Taylor Townsend now leads the head-to-head against Jessica Pegula by a margin of 3-1. The defeat in Rome was Pegula’s first opening match loss at any event since the 2021 BNP Paribas Open.

Townsend, who is making her Rome debut, will face China’s Wang Xiyu in the third round on Saturday, May 13. This is only the second time she has reached the third round at a WTA 1000 event.

“I was like, ‘Holy You-Know-What’” - Taylor Townsend’s reaction after breaking into the WTA doubles top 10

Taylor Townsend broke into WTA doubles top 10

Taylor Townsend hit a career milestone on Monday as she broke into the top 10 of the women’s doubles rankings, reaching World No. 6. Townsend was ecstatic about her achievement, specially considering her difficult journey to get to that milestone.

“I was in tears, because I thought about the journey of what it took to get here and I was like, ‘Holy You-Know-What!’” she told Tennis Channel’s Prakash Amritraj.

“I saw [the new rankings] and I was like, ‘Oh my god I’m so excited! Woohoo, go Taylor!’ And then I made a Reel, and I was literally bawling, crying,” she added.

Townsend returned to the WTA tour in April 2022 after giving birth to her son, Adyn Aubrey Johnson, in March 2021. Due to her long break from tennis, the American was unranked in singles.

Townsend and her doubles partner Leylah Fernandez reached the 2023 Madrid Open semifinals, which resulted in her career-high doubles ranking.

The American is having a great debut at the 2023 Italian Open with four victories in a row (including qualifiers) and an upset against compatriot Jessica Pegula.