It's been five years in the making but "the fighter" in Donna Vekic roared her way back into the Wimbledon third round.
At The Championships 2018, the Croatian chalked up her best showing at Wimbledon by reaching the last 16. Vekic's opener on that trip to London was a 6-1, 6-3 victory over Sloane Stephens.
In a rematch at The All England Club on Thursday, the world No.21 battled back from 2-5 down in the second set to prevail 4-6, 7-5, 6-4 on No.1 Court.
The tears flowed; this victory meant a lot to the 27-year-old. "I have no idea, I honestly cannot believe I won," she said.
"I always said to my team that Sloane is one of the best players in the world. I think she definitely showed that today.
"I was in trouble. At the beginning of the second set I was having a little bit of a panic attack, because it's not every day you play on Court No.1.
"Wimbledon is such a special place for me. I told myself to enjoy it somehow, the fighter in me came out, I was fighting for every point."
The depth and consistency of the Croatian's play kept Stephens off balance as she raced 3-1 ahead with a series of shots "puffing" paint off the lines.
But Stephens found her range and began to dictate with her ferocious blink-and-you'll-miss-it forehand to restore the balance.
Vekic, a recent runner-up in Berlin, resorted to bringing Stephens to the net, but the American was on to the plan in a flash, re-dropping a Vekic drop shot en route to a 4-3 advantage.
The set reached its concluding stages and it was Vekic who let slip, successive double faults handing the opener to the American.
Ten years on from her career-best Wimbledon, a place in the quarter-finals, Stephens' effortless striking kept her in command.
A crouching forehand winner, a backhand lob from a flick of the wrist and the world No.39 motored 3-0 ahead.
Vekic started to rebuild, the drop shot reaped rewards and she yelled "come on" following a vital hold.
The Croatian loosened up, a rocket inside-out forehand set the tone for a captivating comeback, while Stephens tightened up. Five games in a row and Vekic had stolen away the second set.
The decider was grass court tennis at its finest. Vekic whipped the outside of the ball for a forehand pass, net cords played a part and Stephens escaped four break points with a classy serve-forehand one-two punch.
The chances kept coming and this time Vekic was forced to fend off three break points.
The escape act continued and the Croatian kept up the pressure with pristine point construction for a crucial 3-2 lead. Every time Stephens flashed a winner and threatened to flip the script, Vekic found an answer.
The No.20 seed held her nerve to secure the third round spot and now takes on world No.42 Marketa Vondrousova.
New this year:
See the draw like never before, with interactive Path to the Final view of the draw by clicking a player’s name on the draws page
See the projected Path to the Final of every player in the Gentlemen’s and Ladies’ singles draws with IBM Likely to Play
View how favourable or difficult a player's draw is, with IBM AI Draw Analysis
