Fans applauded after the match when the on-court interviewer, Rennae Stubbs, said that Townsend had gone to the net more than 100 times. (The official statistics showed 106 net approaches for Townsend, compared with 10 for Halep).

“I knew that I’m not going to beat her from the baseline,” Townsend told Stubbs. “I knew that I had to do something to give me an edge.”

Townsend broke Halep for a 3-2 lead in the third set, then held twice to put herself a game from victory. She had two match points at 5-4. Townsend double faulted on the first, and Halep saved the second with a backhand passing shot winner.

Halep then broke, held, and had a match point on Townsend’s serve at 6-5, but missed her return long. Townsend won the ensuing tie-breaker, serve-and-volleying on every point. She finished with a deep forehand volley cross court into Halep’s backhand, which the Romanian could not send back. As the ball sank into the net, Townsend’s arms flew up in triumph.