Dreams died by fractions of an inch and were reborn through sheer determination on a pulsating Sunday at the US Open, with Taylor Townsend's heartbreaking exit contrasting sharply with Taylor Fritz's steady march onward.
Townsend's three-hour odyssey against Barbora Krejcikova provided the day's most compelling drama, the mother from Chicago saving eight match points before finally succumbing 1-6, 7-6, 6-3 in a thriller that left even her four-year-old son AJ offering gentle consolation.
"It was literally like a point here and there that made the difference," said Townsend, tears still fresh after the longest tiebreak of the tournament.
"The backhand down the line on the match point where it barely clipped the line, what do you do in those moments?"
The 29-year-old's anguish provided a stark contrast to Fritz's businesslike 6-4, 6-3, 6-3 dismissal of Czech Tomas Machac, to fly the American flag as the country's sole male survivor from the 23 who began the tournament.
The Californian will carry the nation's hopes of ending a 22-year major drought since Andy Roddick's 2003 triumph.
"It's been a tough week for the guys," Fritz admitted after reaching the quarter-finals of the US Open for a third year in a row.
"I wasn't expecting that. I'm happy to be here and happy to be the last one standing. Hopefully the crowd will get behind me and will me through it."
Carlos Alcaraz beat Arthur Rinderknech 7-6, 6-3, 6-4, while Aryna Sabalenka continued her imperious form with a 6-1, 6-4 victory over Cristina Bucsa.
"I think the key was balancing on-court and off-court life," said Sabalenka, extending her remarkable streak of reaching at least the quarter-finals in her last 12 Grand Slams.
"I feel like I'm really enjoying my journey and my life. I think that's the main thing."
At 38, Novak Djokovic made history by becoming the oldest man to reach Grand Slam quarter-finals in all four majors in a single season, dispatching Jan-Lennard Struff 6-3, 6-3, 6-2 despite requiring treatment on his right shoulder during the match.
"I don't know how many more I'm going to have, so obviously each one is very special," said the Serbian, who extended his all-time record to 64 major quarter-finals and now awaits Fritz.
Djokovic leads their head-to-head 10-0.
American hopes in the women's draw were carried by Jessica Pegula, who cruised past Ann Li 6-1, 6-2 to reach her eighth Grand Slam quarter-final and set up a blockbuster clash with Krejcikova.
"I felt like I played a really clean match," said the fourth-seeded Pegula, who has now reached at least the quarter-finals in three of her last four US Open appearances.
