Then, suddenly, the 19-time Grand Slam singles champion was putting shots right where she wanted, imposing her will as only she can. And the only anger Williams displayed was directed at her opponent, Victoria Azarenka, while they traded gestures and words over the chair umpire's decision to replay a key point.
By the end, when she was aggressively grabbing the final six games and 10 of the final 12, all that really mattered was that the No. 1-ranked Williams was not going to let this one get away. Williams erased deficit after deficit and beat former No. 1 Azarenka 3-6, 6-4, 6-2 Saturday in a third-round French Open match filled with momentum swings and one GIF-ready contentious exchange.
"I was just really down and out in that match, and I just feel like, you know, I just really zeroed in," Williams said. "I really focused and I really wanted to win that."
Williams is 28-1 in 2015, 9-0 in three-setters. The American improved to 50-11 at Roland Garros, making her the first woman since 1968, when Grand Slam tournaments admitted professionals, to have that many wins at each major.
She's never been as comfortable or confident on the French Open's dusty red clay as with grass or hard courts underfoot, exiting in the second round last year and the first in 2012. She's been past the quarterfinals once in the past 12 years — in 2013, when she won her second French Open title.
Compare that to the 33-year-old's trophies elsewhere: six apiece from the Australian Open and U.S. Open, five from Wimbledon.
If 'zips invented', Maisie Williams ready to return to 'Game of...
Azarenka owns a pair of Australian Open trophies. She also was twice a U.S. Open finalist, but lost each time to Williams, who has won 16 of their 19 matchups. They tend to be close as can be: This month on clay in Madrid, Williams won after Azarenka double-faulted three times while serving for the match.
So maybe that collapse and Saturday's, when Azarenka led by a set and 4-2 in the second, are an indication that Williams holds an edge in more than shotmaking. She produced nearly twice as many winners as Azarenka, 41 to 21.
"She really stepped it up," the 27th-seeded Azarenka said. "Nobody is probably harder ... for me to play against."
On the last point of the second set, Azarenka hit a shot that landed near the baseline. Williams netted a response at about the same time an "out" call came. Chair umpire Kader Nouni decided the point should be replayed, which Azarenka disputed. She and Williams wound up looking at each other, and Azarenka waved her hand, as if to say, "Eh, never mind." Williams then appeared to tell Azarenka not to wag her hand.
Azarenka, who still was steamed about Nouni's ruling after the match, lost the replayed point, giving Williams the set, and was warned for a visible obscenity.
Azarenka headed to a bathroom break. When she returned, she took a 2-0 lead in the third set.
Williams wouldn't drop another game.
The two are friends away from the court, and both downplayed whatever testiness there seemed to be between them Saturday.
"We don't have any air to clear," Azarenka said. "But I gave her a pair of my shorts because she really liked them. True story."
In the fourth round, Williams will face the other remaining U.S. woman, 40th-ranked Sloane Stephens.
The most significant victory of the 22-year-old Stephens' career came when she reached her only Grand Slam semifinal by beating Williams at the 2013 Australian Open. Later that year, Stephens found herself in a bit of a brouhaha over less-than-flattering comments she made to a reporter about Williams.
Other fourth-round matchups: Petra Kvitova vs. Timea Bacsinszky, Sara Errani vs. Julia Goerges, and 93rd-ranked Alison Van Uytvanck vs. 100th-ranked Andreea Mitu.
Men's fourth-round pairings: Nine-time champion Rafael Nadal against 37th-ranked Jack Sock, the only American man left; No. 1 Novak Djokovic against Richard Gasquet, Andy Murray against Jeremy Chardy, and U.S. Open champion Marin Cilic against David Ferrer.
Djokovic and Murray advanced with straight-set victories over a pair of young Australians seen by many as part of the next wave of tennis stars. Their day might come, but not Saturday.
Murray won his 13th consecutive match by eliminating brash 20-year-old Nick Kyrgios 6-4, 6-2, 6-3, while Djokovic stretched his winning streak to 25 matches on all surfaces by defeating 19-year-old Thanasi Kokkinakis 6-4, 6-4, 6-4.
After wasting a pair of break chances, Kyrgios muttered: "What are you doing out here? Go gardening or something!"
French Open Results
PARIS: Results Saturday from the French Open at Stade Roland Garros (seedings in parentheses):
Men's Singles
Third Round
Novak Djokovic (1), Serbia, def. Thanasi Kokkinakis, Australia, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4.
Andy Murray (3), Britain, def. Nick Kyrgios (29), Australia, 6-4, 6-2, 6-3.
Rafael Nadal (6), Spain, def. Andrey Kuznetsov, Russia, 6-1, 6-3, 6-2.
David Ferrer (7), Spain, def. Simone Bolelli, Italy, 6-3, 1-6, 5-7, 6-0, 6-1.
Marin Cilic (9), Croatia, def. Leonardo Mayer (23), Argentina, 6-3, 6-2, 6-4.
Richard Gasquet (20), France, def. Kevin Anderson (15), South Africa, 4-6, 7-6 (4), 7-5, 6-4.
Jeremy Chardy, France, def. David Goffin (17), Belgium, 6-3, 6-4, 6-2.
Jack Sock, United States, def. Borna Coric, Croatia, 6-2, 6-1, 6-4.
Women's Singles
Serena Williams (1), United States, def. Victoria Azarenka (27), Belarus, 3-6, 6-4, 6-2.
Petra Kvitova (4), Czech Republic, def. Irina-Camelia Begu (30), Romania, 6-3, 6-2.
Sara Errani (17), Italy, def. Andrea Petkovic (10), Germany, 6-3, 6-3.
Timea Bacsinszky (23), Switzerland, def. Madison Keys (16), United States, 6-4, 6-2.
Andreea Mitu, Romania, def. Francesca Schiavone, Italy, 7-5, 6-4.
Alison Van Uytvanck, Belgium, def. Kristina Mladenovic, France, 6-4, 6-1.
Julia Goerges, Germany, def. Irina Falconi, United States, 6-4, 6-1.
Sloane Stephens, United States, def. Tsvetana Pironkova, Bulgaria, 6-4, 6-1.
Men's Doubles
Ivan Dodig, Croatia, and Marcelo Melo (3), Brazil, def. Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, Spain, and Edouard Roger-Vasselin (15), France, 6-1, 6-4.
Radu Albot, Moldova, and Lukas Rosol, Czech Republic, def. Maximo Gonzalez, Argentina, and Andre Sa, Brazil, 2-6, 7-6 (4), 7-5.
Second Round
Carlos Berlocq, Argentina, and Leonardo Mayer, Argentina, def. Pablo Cuevas, Uruguay, and David Marrero (12), Spain, 6-1, 6-7 (5), 7-6 (3).
Women's Doubles
Ekaterina Makarova, Russia, and Elena Vesnina (2), Russia, def. Lyudmyla Kichenok, Ukraine, and Olga Savchuk, Ukraine, 7-5, 6-7 (3), 6-3.
Daniela Hantuchova, Slovakia, and Samantha Stosur, Australia, def. Timea Babos, Hungary, and Kristina Mladenovic (3), France, 7-5, 6-3.
Hsieh Su-Wei, Taiwan, and Flavia Pennetta (4), Italy, def. Madison Brengle, United States, and Tatjana Maria, Germany, 6-1, 6-3.
Bethanie Mattek-Sands, United States, and Lucie Safarova (7), Czech Republic, def. Varvara Lepchenko, United States, and Zheng Saisai, China, 6-3, 6-2.
Yung-Jan Chan, Taiwan, and Zheng Jie (11), China, def. Annika Beck, Germany, and Shahar Peer, Israel, 6-3, 6-2.
Casey Dellacqua, Australia, and Yaroslava Shvedova (12), Kazakhstan, def. Alize Cornet, France, and Magda Linette, Poland, 6-2, 6-1.
Michaella Krajicek, Netherlands, and Barbora Strycova (13), Czech Republic, def. Kimiko Date-Krumm, Japan, and Francesca Schiavone, Italy, 7-6 (5), 6-1.
Hao-Ching Chan, Taiwan, and Anabel Medina Garrigues, Spain, def. Ysaline Bonaventure, Belgium, and Anna Karolina Schmiedlova, Slovakia, 6-3, 5-7, 6-3.
Mixed Doubles
Bethanie Mattek-Sands, United States, and Mike Bryan (2), United States, def. Elina Svitolina, Ukraine, and Jamie Murray, Britain, 6-3, 6-3.
Katarina Srebotnik, Slovenia, and Horia Tecau, Romania, def. Martina Hingis, Switzerland, and Leander Paes (8), India, 6-7 (6), 6-3, 10-6.
Zheng Jie, China, and Henri Kontinen, Finland, def. Andreja Klepac, Slovenia, and Rajeev Ram, United States, 6-3, 1-6, 11-9.
Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez, Spain, and Robert Lindstedt, Sweden, def. Raquel Kops-Jones, United States, and Robert Farah, Colombia, 6-4, 6-4.
Yung-Jan Chan, Taiwan, and John Peers, Australia, def. Anna-Lena Groenefeld, Germany, and Jean-Julien Rojer, Netherlands, 6-1, 6-4.
French Open Lookahead: Federer vs. Monfils highlights Sunday
PARIS: Roger Federer and Gael Monfils know each other — and each other's games — quite well.
Their fourth-round match Sunday will be their 13th meeting overall (Federer leads 8-4) and fourth at the French Open (Federer leads 3-0).
"Roger asks many questions," the 13th-seeded Monfils said, "and I have to find many answers."
Monfils has won their most recent two matches, both on clay, and both in straight sets.
"He's played me tough throughout my career," Federer said. "Especially the last four, five years now, he's been tougher for me to play against."
It shapes up as the most intriguing singles contest of the eight on the schedule Sunday, when rain is in the forecast.
Switzerland's Federer is, of course, a 17-time Grand Slam champion.
France's Monfils has one only major semifinal appearance to his credit, but it came in 2008 at Roland Garros, where the showman-at-heart feeds off the partisan fans' support.
"He's at home. He's very strong. He loves these kind of matches," the second-seeded Federer said. "So I know the danger."
Monfils' past two matches were five-set comeback victories, part of a 10-3 record on such occasions at the clay-court Grand Slam tournament. He's one of only two men in the professional era, which began in 1968, with 10 career five-set wins at the French Open (Harold Solomon went 10-1).
That means two things: Monfils has a way of pulling out tight matches — and he rarely reaches the latter rounds at Roland Garros with all of his energy available.
"If I could win in three sets," he acknowledged, "it would be much better."
Here's a look at what else is happening at the French Open on Sunday:
FRENCH CONNECTION
There are two other men from France in action: No. 12 Gilles Simon faces No. 8 Stan Wawrinka of Switzerland, and No. 14 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga plays No. 4 Tomas Berdych. Since 1968, there never have been more than two players from the host country in the men's quarterfinals at the French Open.
LOW RANKING
At No. 74, Russia's Teymuraz Gabashvili is trying to become lowest-ranked quarterfinalist in Paris since Ernests Gulbis was 80th in 2008. Gabashvili plays fifth-seeded Kei Nishikori, whose third-round opponent withdrew because of an injury. Nishikori can become the first Japanese man in the final eight at the tournament since 1933, when Jiro Satoh got to the semifinals for the second time.
COUGH, COUGH
Defending champion Maria Sharapova will take on 13th-seeded Lucie Safarova, a left-hander, on Court Suzanne Lenglen. The second-seeded Sharapova has yet to drop a set and only has lost 17 games through three matches, but she can't seem to shake a cough that's been bothering her during play. "I have never felt like that on the court playing a Grand Slam, so this is kind of new," Sharapova said. "I'm just trying to do the best that I can with the circumstances."
CLOSE TO THE QUARTERS
The other women's matches to determine quarterfinalists will be 2008 champion Ana Ivanovic vs. No. 9 Ekaterina Makarova, No. 19 Elina Svitolina vs. No. 29 Alize Cornet, and No. 21 Garbine Muguruza vs. No. 28 Flavia Pennetta.
