Talk about the agony of defeat.
Croatia’s Petra Martic took her loss to Sloane Stephens on Day 5 extremely hard, and that’s understandable. The World No. 32 went toe-to-toe with Stephens and was barely edged by the American in two tough tiebreakers. It was a physical battle that was a delight to watch.
After the match commentator Mark Petchey called it "an absolute masterpiece of a match."
But for Martic, who was defending round of 16 points this year in Melbourne, it was a little too much to handle. After laying it all on the court the 27-year-old had nothing but tears to give as she crumbled against a wall and sobbed into her towel.
ESPN cameras caught her as she drops her bag and slumps against the wall and sobs into her towel for what seems like an eternity. Debate the wisdom of capturing and broadcasting raw footage of player's personal moments all you want, but whatever your stance on that matter there is no denying that what we are seeing here is raw and undeniably moving.
These athletes are playing for keeps here, people, and while we are all very familiar with the happy-go-lucky tone of post-match interviews with the winners, this is the other side of the tennis coin, where hearts get broken and even brilliant efforts, sometimes, aren't nearly enough.
If you were wondering just how bad these athletes want to win at the majors, look no further than a gutted Martic, who should be praised for her fantastic effort and hold her head high after pushing one of the tour’s top players all the way.