She said what? Controversial call miffs Victoria Azarenka

— -- "Turning point? No. Very important point? Yes."

-- Victoria Azarenka, on the line-call controversy that slightly marred the otherwise absorbing third-round French Open match she lost on Sunday to top-seeded Serena Williams.

So Serena Williams did it again. It's always the same, isn't it?

It often looks like the posse is sure to catch up with Serena. She can't keep doing this, they say. She is 33 years old, and still reaching into that top hat to pull out a bunny. How deep can it be, anyway? Nothing lasts forever, they say. Nothing, perhaps, but Williams' ability to fool us.

This time, the gimlet-eyed critics hoping that Williams would finally get her comeuppance had good reason to believe their moment of vindication had come. Trailing Victoria Azarenka by 3-6, 2-4, the frustrated expression on Williams' pliant face said it all, even as she worked her way to break point. When she made an error soon after, she appeared ready to burst into tears.

Instead Williams did it once again. She began to stir out of her torpor with a strong hold. It was like that first, unexpected gust that rattles leaves right before a thunderstorm. Then came the deluge: a break, a hold, Azarenka suddenly down love-40 and three set points for Williams.

Azarenka fought off those set points, then she was more or less robbed of a hold point when she was forced to replay a line-clearing forehand that was called out. Chair umpire Kader Nouni ordered the women to replay the point, much to Azarenka's displeasure. The players even had some words at the net, lighting up social media.

While it certainly appeared Williams hit the ball before the late call, the bottom line is that the distraction occurred, and it was hard to ignore. Williams won the replayed point as well as the next one, to win the set. Azarenka's final evaluation was even-handed.

"My honest opinion, that call was bulls---, and everybody knows it. But it's part of the game. Sometimes it happens this way. But I think it wasn't a fair call."

Williams then rolled through the final set. Once again, Williams turned the improbable comeback into the inevitable triumph. The impossible became the inescapable. Those who doubt she could do it again ought to feel like non-believers dragged into the presence of a deity who suffers them with amusement.

This match might have started a storm that will not blow out until a week from Sunday.

"I was really disappointed with my last match. I knew I couldn't play like that against someone like Vika. I think overall, it was definitely better [than my second-round match]. It's definitely a step in the right direction. And I just want -- I really want to be here," Williams said.

Anyone malicious enough to hope that the little controversy at the end of the second set has driven a wedge between these two friends is apt to feel disappointed. Azarenka knows she was beaten fair and square.

"There wasn't much wrong that I have done, I think. She just really played a good match and I have to give her credit for that, for sure," Azarenka said.

Azarenka added in response to a different question about the replay controversy that any lingering hard feelings are gone.

"We don't have any air to clear. But I gave her a pair of my shorts because she really liked them. True story," she said.

They are all true stories where Serena Williams and her game are concerned, no matter how implausible they sound.