She plays the violin, dances something called the NaeNae and has ridden to the rescue of American tennis just as Serena Williams’ shock French Open exit is still being absorbed.
Taylor Townsend – the 18-year-old world No.205, making her grand slam debut – held her nerve to see off French No.1 Alize Cornet 6-4 4-6 6-4.
Suddenly, the second-round defeats of defending champion Serena and sister Venus earlier on Wednesday were cushioned by the teenager from Stockbridge, Georgia.
Townsend seemed the only person inside Roland Garros unaware that Serena had suffered her second worst defeat at a major.
“Serena lost? She did? Oh. Oops. Whoa,” said Townsend in a fog of teenage incredulity.
“I thought she won. I saw 2 and 2. I was like, Oh, that was fast. Wow. Anyways … Um, wow, that was interesting.”
Townsend said she was honoured to be on the same Suzanne Lenglen court which had claimed her more famous compatriot but was more concerned about having to follow Roger Federer’s match.
“I’m just happy that I was able to pull it out. That’s crazy. The fact I followed Federer just freaked me out last night. I was like, that’s pretty intense.”
Townsend, whose violin talents were harnessed at school, earned her passage to Paris by winning a wildcard playoff at home although her ability had been evident for some time.
She was Australian Open girls champion in 2012 as a 15-year-old on her way to becoming the first American in 30 years to be the world junior No.1.
She is coached by Zina Garrison, the 1990 Wimbledon runner-up who encouraged the teenager’s bizarre, arm-twirling dance celebration after the Cornet victory.
“I have been saying since the beginning of the tournament, this dance from Atlanta, called the NaeNae – you guys should look it up: it’s pretty cool,” she said.
Townsend’s confidence and strength shone through against Cornet where she gave up leads of 4-1 in the second set and 5-1 in the third before winning on a fifth match point.
“How good am I? Well, I don’t want to sound conceited, but, I mean, I’m pretty darn good, I guess,” she smiled.
She keeps the secrets of her hard work inside a dog-eared notebook which she brings out during changeovers. The contents remain off limits to the public.
“I can’t give you all of my secrets. Basically, they’re just notes from practice. They just kind of get me back into a state of mind, keeping things simple.
“I have been doing it for so long it’s kind of a habit now so, if I don’t read it, it’s weird.”
Her ability has already been noticed by Wimbledon champion Andy Murray who tweeted: “How good is Taylor Townsend! #talent.”
“What’s up, Andy? I love your mom,” laughed the American in response. “That’s pretty cool. Maybe I’ll tweet him back. Maybe I will get a whole bunch of followers.”