It didn't come easily; it never does for Gavrilova.This was the third time she had played and beaten Baczinszky, the 12th seed here, but each time it has taken three sets and pretty much two-and-a-half hours. As Gavrilova admits, she is genetically incapable of winning — or losing — in less than two hours. Next up is Czech Karolina Pliskova, the fifth seed, who had her own odyssey this night, beating little known Latvian Jelena Ostapenko 10-8 in the third.

Hitherto, Gavrilova had spent the summer playing and staving off big hitters. "I'm just hustling," she said. This was different. Bacsinszky is Swiss, of eastern European stock, the marque of excellence, and hovers at the edge of the top 10, but is not a thumper. Gavrilova says of herself: "I'm someone who's always going to have tough matches because I can't just blow someone off the court. I don't have a big serve, like, huge forehand or backhand. I think all my matches are going to be tough."

Throughout, Gavrilova was busy and purposeful, but also edgy and anguished, all at once. She was, as ever, intense in everything she did, sometimes for the good, sometimes consuming her. But in style, this contest was about as hard-hitting as a Better Homes and Gardens editorial. Each broke serve the way the KGB might break a spy, not with brute force, but by leaving the light on all night. There were many breaks; there was a lot of light. Two stolen service games in a row finished the night.

In the absence of crude power, both played deft and driven games. At first, Gavrilova ran hot. Almost everything she tried worked, including a series of exquisite drop shots. Upon winning the first set, she pirouetted to her seat, leading the crowd in her pas de deux.

In the second set, Bacszinszky steadied, Gavrilova loosened and lost her way and the match turned. The crowd tried to jolly Gavrilova, unavailingly. Cheekily, it was Bacsinszky who rode the Mexican wave.

But in the third, Gavrilova composed herself and rallied, bravely, time and time again rushing the net, bayonet fixed. It worked. The baseline had been an anchor for Baczinszky; now she became stranded there. Still, there were hiccups as two match points and all Gavrilova's challenges went out the window. But she finished as she had begun, with a winning drive volley. "Yeees," she exclaimed. "What can I say? I'm so happy."

Gavrilova is well in the tournament now. Seeded 22, she is in the last 16, with a win over the 12th seed under her belt. Five times in her career, she has beaten top 10 players, so they won't scare her. Her own demons might prove harder to conquer. But demons born of wanting too badly can be brought onside. That much was evident on Saturday night.

The only bum note on the night was that the players wore identical outfits, socially a sin, commercially a virtue. Really, Backinszky should have been made to don the away strip.