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“Great match, huh?” Serena Williams seemed to say to Maria Sakkari when they met at the net after their fourth-round war on Monday.

Great match, indeed—a great fight from Sakkari and an even better one from Serena, who won it, 6-3, 6-7 (6), 6-3, in two-and-a-half tense hours. The scores may not mark it as a classic, and by the end of this US Open it may be entirely forgotten, but this one was taut and suspenseful from start to finish, and every point was bitterly contested. Games were long; grunts and screams were loud; and serves were held—there were only four breaks in total, and none in the second set. It was, in other words, what many of us had missed during tennis’s long absence.

The win was Serena’s 100th in Arthur Ashe Stadium, a record, against just 13 losses. When ESPN’s Rennae Stubbs asked her about the milestone afterward, Serena, who breaks a record virtually every time she plays, laughed and said, “A new one?” She said she didn’t think about it when she was on the court. She also tried not to think too much about the last time she played Sakkari, two weeks ago at the Western and Southern Open, in a match that ended in defeat for the American. She didn’t need to worry about that; Sakkari was giving her plenty to think about right now.

“She was doing so well!” Serena said of the Greek.

In wire-to-wire war, Serena fends off Sakkari to reach US Open QFs

In wire-to-wire war, Serena fends off Sakkari to reach US Open QFs

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In her third-round match, against Sloane Stephens, it took Serena a set and a half to raise her game to her opponent’s level. She wasn’t taking that chance against Sakkari. From the start of this one, Serena played with a stubborn, point-by-point intensity; even when she fell behind in games, she wouldn’t let them go. Serving at 2-2, Serena came from 0-40 down to hold. On Sakkari’s next service game, Serena came from 40-15 down to break. In the second-set tiebreaker, Serena fell behind 0-4, got back to 6-6, before losing it 8-6.

In the same way that Serena didn’t give any points away mentally, she didn’t give any away tactically, either. Rather than aim for the lines, she kept her ground strokes safely inside them, with pace and depth. When she connected, her shots had too much power for Sakkari to handle, anyway. Serena actually hit fewer winners, 30, to Sakkari’s 35, yet she was still the more aggressive player, and the one in control most of the time.

Sakkari said later that she didn’t take her chances when she had them. That assessment is probably too harsh. Sakkari held serve six straight times in the second set; she survived a roaring Serena comeback in the tiebreaker; she out-aced Serena, 13 to 12—and she broke early in the third and led 2-0. But she didn’t lose that lead by choking. She lost it because Serena was in refuse-to-lose mode.

In wire-to-wire war, Serena fends off Sakkari to reach US Open QFs

In wire-to-wire war, Serena fends off Sakkari to reach US Open QFs

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You could see it in the way, after hitting a backhand winner to hold for 1-2 in the third set, Serena walked off the court with her held confidently  high. You could see it in the running forehand pass—the shot of the match—she hit to break back for 2-2. You could see it in the 124-m.p.h. ace she cannonballed down the T at 3-3. You could see it in the way, before the next point, she pounded the ball into the court off her racquet strings as she set up to serve, and then sent a 125-m.p.h. bomb just wide. You could see it in the way she raised her game at 3-4 in the third, and broke serve with a forehand winner and a backhand winner. And you could see it in the final game, when she watched Sakkari save one match point with an unreturnable forehand, before answering with an unreturnable backhand for the victory.

Serena said she feels less pressure with no fans in the arena, but there’s also less time between points now that the players don’t have to wait for their applause to die down—for the second straight time, she was still breathing hard in her post-match interview. But for the second straight time, she had also survived a three-setter against a much younger opponent. Judging by this match, no matter how tired she may get, she’ll still be tough to beat, because her opponent is going to have to earn every point.

Great fight, great win, great match. And almost surely not the last we’ll see from Serena this week.