Some points seem like they should end three or four times before they actually do.
Elina Svitolina's Shot of the Month was one of them.
The moment came during the third set of her Internazionali BNL d'Italia final against Coco Gauff last month, with Svitolina leading 4-2 and closing in on her first Rome title in eight years.
Gauff did everything right.
She pulled Svitolina wide with a serve to the backhand, then feathered a crosscourt drop shot that forced the Ukrainian star forward. Svitolina reached it, but Gauff immediately sent her racing back toward the baseline. Again, Svitolina got there, flicking a forehand squash shot back into play.
Surely that would be enough.
It wasn't.
Gauff moved forward and steered an inside-out volley into open space on Svitolina's backhand side. Somehow, Svitolina tracked that down, too. Sliding and stretched well beyond the doubles alley, she uncorked a running backhand down the line that flew past Gauff for a clean winner.
The entire sequence lasted eight shots. It felt longer.
Every time it appeared Gauff had created the opening she needed, Svitolina found one more ball. Then one more. And when the chance finally came, she turned defense into offense with a winner that brought the crowd to its feet and left even Svitolina raising her arms in disbelief.
It was the signature point of a remarkable week in Rome, where Svitolina defeated three Top 5 opponents and captured her third title at the tournament. Against Gauff in the final, she was forced to defend, counter and problem-solve for nearly three hours.
No point captured that better than this one.