Fighting spirit saw Russia's Maria Sharapova through to the Wimbledon quarter-finals on July 3, 2006, even though she dropped her first set of the tournament in a 7-6 3-6 6-3 win over Italian Flavia Pennetta.
The 2004 champion was given a real test by 16th seed Pennetta who more than matched her for long periods of a tight fourth round encounter on court two.
"I just didn't feel like I was playing my best tennis. In the end, it all came down to how much I fought," said Sharapova.
"It wasn't really about how good or bad I played, or how good she played, because she played extremely well. I just fought deep."
The Siberian, who used bags of ice to cool herself in the changeovers, took the first set tiebreak 7-5 but the fourth seed was immediately 3-0 down in the second set and Pennetta soon levelled the match.
The Italian netted a forehand to lose serve for 3-1 in the decider and Sharapova, shrieking with every bludgeoned groundstroke, whacked a backhand winner on her third match point to seal victory.
She tackles fellow Russian Elena Dementieva in the last eight.
{{/usCountry}}She tackles fellow Russian Elena Dementieva in the last eight.
{{/usCountry}}"Definitely I'll have to step it up for my next match," said Sharapova, who lost in the semi-finals last year.
"You can't come out every single day and play your best tennis. At the end of the day, I came out with a win. Hopefully I'll improve tomorrow."