Quite a racquet as Open rivals exchange verbal volleys

"She told me I have no class, no education, and to see what happens when we get outside the U.S.," Townsend, who is from Chicago, said after her 7-5 6-1 victory over 2017 French Open champion Ostapenko, who is from Latvia.

After the two players met at the net for a post-match handshake, they stayed near each other instead of going their separate ways, as players usually do. The 25th-seeded Ostapenko wagged a finger at Townsend as they spoke.

"I mean, it's competition," Townsend said. "People get upset when they lose.

"When she was playing well, I didn't say anything. That just shows class."

When they finally stopped talking to each other, Townsend went over to the stands and egged on the partisan crowd, waving her arm overhead - and the noise from spectators only grew louder.

After things had calmed down, Townsend noted during her on-court interview that she had beaten Ostapenko on another occasion - their career head-to-head series was tied at 1-1 before Wednesday - and said: "So let's see what else she has to say."

During one extended trip to the locker room by Ostapenko while the match was still going on, Townsend pulled out a jump rope and used it while there was a delay in the action.

Ostapenko has gotten into kerfuffles with opponents during matches before, including in 2021 when she lost to Australia's Alja Tomljanovic at Wimbledon. 

Tomljanovic accused Ostapenko of lying about needing to leave the court for a medical timeout to address an abdominal issue.

Townsend recently rose to No.1 in the WTA doubles rankings, but this is her first time reaching the third round in singles at a grand slam tournament since 2023.

Former champion Emma Raducanu needed only an hour to cruise past Indonesian qualifier Janice Tjen 6-2 6-1, as the Brit finds a way back to winning ways at the hardcourt tournament.

Raducanu had not won a US Open match since her remarkable run to the title in 2021, but appears in solid form this year, making just eight unforced errors.

"I'm particularly happy, because on the court, I felt like my opponent was playing really good tennis. I thought that she was very dangerous," she told reporters.

"So I'm very pleased with how I kept dictating the points, I kept dictating the play."

Raducanu will face ninth seed Elena Rybakina in the third round after the Kazakhstani's 6-3 7-6 (9-7) win over Czech player Tereza Valentova. 

American fourth seed Jessica Pegula scored a routine 6-1 6-3 win over Anna Blinkova and will next play three-time finalist Victoria Azarenka.

The Belarusian Azarenka became only the fifth woman in the professional era to claim 100 or more singles main-draw wins at the hardcourt majors as she beat Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 6-3 6-3.