It was an apt conclusion to the return of Victoria Azarenka. The 27-year-old former No. 1 and new mother survived a two-day, 2-hour, 45-minute baseline punchathon against Risa Ozaki at the Mallorca Open in the first official match Azarenka has played in more than a year.
The 27-year-old Belarusian looked rusty at times, but she never ran out of power, drive or pugnacity. The only thing she ran out of was daylight Tuesday, which is why the match was halted and resumed Wednesday with Ozaki serving for the victory at 5-4 in the third set.
Nerves? Pressure? First-time back excuses?
Azarenka had none of the above as she belted her way back from triple-match point and a 5-3 deficit in the third-set tiebreaker to lock up the win, 6-3, 4-6, 7-6 (7).
True, Ozaki is ranked just No. 74. But the poise of Azarenka was impressive, and it puts her WTA rivals on notice. The two-time Australian Open champion and year-end No. 1 in 2012 is coming to take their lunch money.
"My life has taken a 180-degree turn," Azarenka told reporters on Sunday, the day before the Mallorca Open began, "but I have not lost my competitive spirit."
From the outset, it seems clear Azarenka might reprise Kim Clijsters' signature feat of returning to the tour after giving birth to win a Grand Slam. The now-retired Belgian player was the first mom in 30 years to win a major title when she bagged the U.S. Open in 2009.
Azarenka's friend and nemesis Serena Williams is now out on maternity leave, but it's likely she will play again after giving birth. Could this be the start of a new trend, now that the theme of having a career moment well into your 30s is growing too familiar?
"I was so happy when [Serena] said she was pregnant," Azarenka said. "But when I first heard it I thought, 'Oh my God, I'll never have the chance to play against her again.' I was a little sad."
It's a fair bet that most of Azarenka's WTA cohorts were offering champagne toasts and applying for mortgages when they learned that Williams was pulling out of the 2017 season. After all, she's 35, and who knows how motherhood will affect her. But leave it to Azarenka, who is 4-17 against Williams, to feel "sad" about never again being fed into that shredder.
Azarenka's attitude just reconfirms that she's as much fighter as player.
Six of the last nine matches she and Williams played went the distance -- two of them decided by third-set tiebreakers. But Azarenka won just three of those nine matches. Granted, that isn't shabby when you consider the competition. But the reality is that Williams has had narrow escapes that must have left Azarenka fuming.
The match most will remember is the U.S. Open final of 2012, which Williams won, 7-5 in the third. That was the year Azarenka won the first of her two Australian Open titles. She was rapidly approaching her zenith and served for the match at 5-4 in the final set, only to see Williams snatch the win with a signature burst of brilliance.
Azarenka's reaction in her postmatch presser that day was a wonderful thumbnail portrait of her character.
"Being so close, it hurts deeply to know you don't have it, you're close, you didn't get it," she said at the time. Then she added a little later that having players like Williams around was "something priceless" because of how they forced everyone else to take not just their games or fitness, but their personalities to that mythic next level.
That next level was attainable for Azarenka more frequently against other opponents. Maria Sharapova leads Azarenka by a thread, 8-7, while Petra Kvitova is 4-3 against Vika. World No. 1 Angelique Kerber? Azarenka won by knockout in seven of eight meetings.
Encouraging as those numbers are, the reality is that Azarenka lost her way not long after her two great years, 2012 and 2013. Beset by injuries and a broken heart in 2014, she plummeted 30 places in the year-end rankings, to No. 32. She gained back some lost ground starting in 2015, but injuries remained a recurring theme and some stabilizing element in her competitive makeup went missing.
In 2016, however, Azarenka won the Sunshine Double (Indian Wells and Miami). But back and knee injuries later that spring ended her resurgence. Back in the top five, she defaulted her first-round match at the French Open and didn't play again until this week. So we don't know if that stabilizing element is restored -- or if her peak is behind her.
Azarenka's serve sometimes goes awry. She's so impetuous and aggressive that in some matches she outruns her coverage. There are more women on the tour now who will step in and belt the ball, challenging her effort to control the flow of the points. The further Azarenka ventures from a full-tilt hitting contest from the baseline, the more perilous her existence becomes.
But the lack of consistent WTA grinders who can counter Azarenka's fearless approach is painfully obvious. She has a great opportunity, and might even end up looking like "something priceless" herself.