Painted flames curled around Taylor Townsend’s sleeves as she stunned world No. 5 Mirra Andreeva 7-5, 6-2 in the third round of the US Open on Friday.

The American – who has unexpectedly found herself in the spotlight following a tense post-match exchange on Wednesday with Jelena Ostapenko – said that the design represented phoenixes, an important symbol for her.

“The premise is you having to burn or lose your old self in order to emerge as something new,” she told reporters after defeating Andreeva on Friday. “I feel like that’s indicative of my career, me as a person, me as a woman, me as a player.” Against Ostapenko too, Townsend’s skirt was decorated with flames.

She took just 76 minutes to defeat Andreeva, who is ranked 134 places above her in the WTA rankings, and reach the fo

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