Serena Williams pulled off a remarkable comeback to beat Victoria Azarenka in three sets at the French Open as the Belarusian was left fuming by a controversial umpire decision.
Williams' bid for a third title at Roland Garros looked to be over when she trailed a set and 4-2 but the American turned the match on its head to win 3-6 6-4 6-2.
The fightback was helped by a moment of fortune on set point in the second set, when Azarenka's forehand was called out before the umpire overruled and ordered the point to be replayed.
Williams had already hit the ball into the net, seemingly regardless of the call, and Azarenka, who felt the error should have stood, was given a visible obscenity warning as her frustration boiled over.
"Was it a turning point? No. A very important point? Yes," Azarenka said.
"My honest opinion is that call was b***s***, everybody knows it but it's part of the game. Sometimes it happens this way.
"But I think it wasn't a fair call."
Azarenka continued: "Sometimes we need to have a damn review because it was so clear.
"I give the benefit of a doubt always if there is a close call but that was so damn clear that you cannot make these mistakes at this level.
"I'm not saying this as an excuse or saying because of that point I lost the match but in that moment, if you don't have a review, it causes a lot of problems."
Azarenka and Williams appeared to be involved in brief but heated exchange soon after but there was no hostility after the match between the pair, who are close friends off the court.
"Have I spoken to Serena to clear the air? There's no air to clear," Azarenka said.
"I gave her a pair of my shorts because she said she liked them. True story."
Williams was less concerned about the decision to replay the point, insisting late calls are a common occurrence.
"He did a late call," Williams said.
"He didn't put his arm out until like five minutes later but this is tennis, this happens all the time."
It is only the second time in five years that Williams has made it past round three in Paris and she will now play fellow American Sloane Stephens for a place in the quarter-finals.
Stephens eased past Bulgaria's Tsvetana Pironkova 6-4 6-1 and Williams was full of praise for her compatriot, whom she has beaten in four of their five previous meetings.
"She has a great game," Williams said.
"She's incredibly fast, so it's going to be really hard to hit a winner on her.
"She's patient so she's able to kind of stay out there a long time.
"She has a perfect game for, not only clay, just I think for a lot of surfaces."
Fourth seed Petra Kvitova is through after she beat Romania's Irina-Camelia Begu in straight sets but Germany's Andrea Petkovic, seeded 10th, is out after she lost to Italian Sara Errani.
Andreea Mitu, Julia Goerges, Timea Bacsinszky, and Alison van Uytvanck also made it through to the last 16 to complete the top half of the women's draw.
