Fighting back tears, Justine Henin-Hardenne endured agonising cramp to complete an epic three-hour 13-minute victory over Lindsay Davenport and reach the Australian Open quarter-finals today.
"I thought I was going to die but I played with my heart," the fifth-seeded Belgian told the crowd, her eyes glistening as she winced in pain following her 7-5 5-7 9-7 win.
"I thought the match was over for me but I wanted to give everything I had," she said as the Melbourne Park fans rose to give her a standing ovation.
Men's second seed Andre Agassi had no need to give his all, however, spending just 48 minutes in the stifling Melbourne heat before his opponent Guillermo Coria quit their last-16 match with a right foot injury.
Agassi had been leading 6-1 3-1 when the Argentine succumbed.
"It's not the best way for it to go, I would have liked more of a match but I guess I've got to count my blessings because I am still in the tournament," he said.
Agassi will meet 12th seed Sebastien Grosjean for a place in the semis after the Frenchman clawed his way back from two sets down to beat Spain's Felix Mantilla 3-6 2-6 6-3 6-3 6-3.
The three-hour 37-minute victory will have gone some way to expunging his nightmare of 2001 here when, in the semi-finals, he blew a two-set lead against friend Arnaud Clement to miss out on a spot in his first grand slam final.
Henin-Hardenne had lost to Davenport, the 2000 champion, at all their previous five meetings, but broke the run in most dramatic fashion. She received treatment from a tournament trainer on three occasions during the see-saw match, once for a blister and twice for severe cramp after she collapsed while serving at 7-7.
Hobbling and blinking back tears, she was massaged and bathed in ice packs before somehow continuing to record a breakthrough victory.
She will now have 24 hours rest before meeting the unseeded Virginia Ruano Pascual of Spain for a place in the semi-finals.
Venus Williams had a far easier time earlier when she moved a step closer to a maiden Australian Open title, ending home hopes at the first grand slam of the year by beating a brave Nicole Pratt 6-3 6-2 to reach the quarter-finals.