Andy Murray's French Open second round victory over Joao Sousa was significantly the toughest and most frustrating test of his 2015 clay court season so far.
Having enjoyed a four-week purple match on the surface, earning terracotta titles in Munich and Madrid, the British No.1 had to overcome two time violations and gusty Parisian winds to advance at Roland Garros.
It turned out to be a Jekyll and Hyde performance from the Scot; a first set of aggressive gusto, typical of the man who ended Great Britain's long wait for another Wimbledon champion, was followed by a return to a past version of himself. On-court expletives and the familiar, angry rants towards his coaching team came either side of two time sanctions handed out by umpire Pascal Marina.
"I wasn't annoyed with the time thing at all, I made no issue of it on the court," Murray said. "I think it's there for a reason. Sometimes I play too slow and that's unintentional. I don't mean to do it.
"But obviously as a player you have no idea how long you're taking in between the points and people can say, 'Oh, they do, they play tennis', but the reality is things happen sometimes.
"You don't get the ball in time or the towel in time. Or the second one that I got, genuinely I was up at the line in good time, but they were showing the highlights from the point before, so I didn't serve.
"So sometimes things like that make it tougher for the players but there were points today where I got told I was playing too slow and I should try to speed up. And I did."
Whereas past Murray may have pressed the self-destruct button and crumbled, present Murray has learned his lesson. "Calm down, calm down!" was the Scot's mantra before Sousa, who shares the same agent as Real Madrid superstar Cristiano Ronaldo, took the second set. However, Murray promptly regrouped to wrap up his 12th-straight clay victory in little over two hours and 30 minutes on court and stay on course in his bid for a third grand slam title.
"At that period in the match obviously I was struggling," Murray said. "There was pressure building. I served badly in that second set and I brought that pressure on myself.
"Then he started to play better tennis and made it difficult for me for that 30 to 40-minute period. It was very tough in the end of the second set through to the beginning and middle of the third. When I started serving and returning better, it obviously helped me get out of trouble."
It is a consolidated mindset that has flourished under coach Amelie Mauresmo. Immediately after walking off Court Philippe Chatrier on Thursday, they were pictured in deep discussion: it is no secret the former world No.1's presence has significantly raised Murray's game.
"We started officially working together after Wimbledon last year and I'd been going through a very tough period with back surgery," Murray said. "I dropped out of the top ten in the world and she has helped me a lot and has a lot of experience.
"She was an excellent player, was number one in the world and won Grand Slams. But the way that she played and her game style, she played with a lot of variety, which is something I try to do on the court. I thought she could help me with that and she's a very nice person too. It's fun to work with her, which is also important."
Her experience could prove vital in Murray's third round clash with Nick Kyrgios on Saturday. The Australian, who was awarded a second-round bye after Kyle Edmund's withdrawal, thrives on the biggest stages. He defeated Rafa Nadal on his run to the Wimbledon quarter-finals last year and recently overcame Roger Federer at the Madrid Open.
However, despite having never dropped a set to the 20-year-old, Murray remains wary of the threat Kyrgios poses.
"I think he's a very talented guy," Murray said of his next opponent in Paris. "He likes the big stage and he's had some good results both at and away from the grand slams. He beat Roger a few weeks ago on the clay, so he can obviously cause a lot of trouble. He's an exciting guy to watch and he's going to be around for a long time, I'm sure."