"Court 17 was lit" - Taylor Townsend hilariously references Alexander Zverev & Maria Sakkari's reports of smelling marijuana at US Open after 2R win

Taylor Townsend made an amusing veiled reference to reports of Alexander Zverev and Maria Sakkari detecting a noticeable marijuana scent during their matches at the 2023 US Open.

Townsend commenced her singles campaign with a straight sets win over Varvara Gracheva. She then upset 19th seed Beatriz Haddad Maia 7-6 (1), 7-5 to advance to the third round at Flushing Meadows.

The latter match, which took place on Court 17, was witnessed by a lively American and Brazilian crowd. Both contingents passionately supported their respective compatriots.

Following her win, Townsend was questioned about the electric atmoshpere of the crowd. In response, the American playfully referred to the ambience as being "lit," humorously alluding to the comments made by Maria Sakkari and Alexander Zverev.

"No, Court 17 was lit. Oh, my gosh. Cut that one, too," Taylor Townsend said during her post-match press conference.

Townsend hinted at the comments once more as she joked about the "super lit" crowd that got her "fired up."

"I kind of got the feeling like they are so passionate. It was super lit. I had a great time. I had so much fun. This is probably the most that I've gotten the crowd involved. I was fired up. Cut that. Really, I had a great time," she added.

Following her defeat to Rebeka Masarova in the opening round, Sakkari disclosed that she had noticed the smell of cannabis while playing on Court 17.

"It was cannabis. I was not affected by this smell in any way. It was just a comment, it has nothing to do with the match. I smelled it yesterday in practice too, but it's irrelevant," she said.

The Greek's claim was supported by Zverev after his straight sets win over Aleksandar Vukic as well.

"Court 17 definitely smells like Snoop Dogg’s living room. Oh my God, it’s everywhere. The whole court smells like weed," he said, as per the Associated Press.

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"One of the most fun matches I played in terms of crowd support" - Taylor Townsend after 2R win over Beatriz Haddad Maia

Taylor Townsend at the 2023 US Open

Describing her "crazy" experience, Taylor Townsend compared the energetic atmosphere during her match against Beatriz Haddad Maia to that of a soccer game. She also expressed her delight at the crowd's enthusiasm and passion.

"No, it was crazy. I literally came off the court, I was like, That was so fire. It was so fun. The energy. I've never been to, like, a professional soccer match, football - sorry, people might get mad - let me say soccer because we're in America, soccer match, game. I felt like that was the vibe," Taylor Townsend said.

The 27-year-old went on to call the clash one of the most fun matches of her career so far.

"It was really cool. Like, honestly, this is probably one of the most fun, like, matches I played in terms of, like, crowd support. I really was feeding off of the energy. I did not care that it was a lot of support for her. I expect that pretty much anywhere that we go," she added.

Taylor Townsend will be up against 10th seed Karolina Muchova in the third round. Muchova defeated Magdalena Frech 6-3, 6-3 in her second-round clash.