Tatjana Maria raised her arms in the air, tears of joy welled up in her eyes.
On a memorable day of the round of 16, the 34-year-old continued her fairytale Wimbledon journey and knocked the next favorite out of the tournament.
In the 5: 7, 7: 5, 7: 5 against Jelena Ostapenko, she fended off two match points with a great fighting heart and, thanks to a tactical masterstroke, made it into the quarter-finals.
Maria thanked the "fantastic spectators" who helped her to free herself from the apparently hopeless situation.
"They were always there, and if they believe in me, then I believe in me too," Maria said.
The mother-of-two, who gave birth to her second daughter just 15 months ago, unnerved the No. 12 seed with her undercut forehand and backhand shots that bounce so low on turf.
She had previously disenchanted Sorana Cirstea (Romania/No. 26) and Maria Sakkari (Greece/No. 5).
"I know that everyone is stressed about it," she said before the duel with Ostapenko.
The slice, especially with the forehand, is out of fashion but, like the one Maria was playing at the All England Club those days, immensely effective.
Ostapenko knew what to expect, but it took her a few minutes to find an antidote.
Maria was 3:1 in the lead, then it became a match.
The 25-year-old Ostapenko with all her power and topspin on offense, Maria defensively stable, lurking and heading to the net when she got the chance.
While next door stars and champions - including Angelique Kerber - celebrated the 100th birthday of the center court with refugees and heroes of the pandemic and Niemeier was waiting for their match, Maria and Ostapenko fought a very exciting duel.
At 5:6, Maria made a small mistake, a double fault gave Ostapenko the set ball, which she used with all her experience in big matches.
In 2017 she surprisingly triumphed in Roland Garros and reached the quarter-finals of Wimbledon in the same year.
In 2018 she even got one more round before it became quieter about the Latvian.
This Sunday, the former rest day in Wimbledon, which will be used as an official match day for the first time this year at the 135th edition of the Championships, she appeared loud, aggressive and powerful and pulled away 4-1 in the second set.
Maria countered it tactically, came up, fended off two match balls, forced the third round, with the drama reaching its climax.
At first Ostapenko led, but Maria didn't let herself be shaken off, then the German, who has long been living in Florida with her family, served to win 5:4 - and Ostapenko fought back.
Maria took her next chance.
The trip goes on.