Serena Williams has labelled her dramatic injury-hampered win over Daniela Hantuchova as one of the "gutsiest" performances she has ever put up on court and revealed that she had been prepared to "die trying" to ensure the victory.

The Australian Open champion collapsed on the Centre Court with agonising cramps in her left calf during the second set. After prolonged treatment she limped on, despite very restricted movement, and was helped when a downpour arrived to give her a break of nearly two hours for intensive medical treatment.

And when she came out again, she played like a warrior to take the match in three sets and explained afterwards exactly how determined she was to complete the match.

“I thought about not finishing today,” she admitted, “but only briefly. When I went down, I didn’t think I was going to get up. But I thought I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if I hadn’t at least tried.

"I was going to die trying. I figured my heart wouldn’t give out, anyway. But I’ve never dealt with such pain. I can’t believe I won. I just kept thinking to myself – one more game, one more game, until finally there were no games left.

“I was definitely saved by the rain. I couldn’t move before that. I had a very acute muscle spasm. I think I was crying at one point. So in the break I was having a lot of ice on it, a lot of massage, drinking a lot of fluids – tons of fluids.

"That’s why I needed the bathroom when I came back on court. But I didn’t have pain-killing injections. I don’t do shots. I don’t like needles.”

But although the rain delay was her saviour, it also brought bad news. A doctor told her she risked long-term injury if she did not have her calf scanned before going back on court – and, of course, there was no time for that. In any case, she felt she had no choice.

“At that point I was going back on the court no matter what,” said Williams. “I just had to go back out. If I’d gone back out and not been able to do anything – well, OK. I would just have felt bad if I didn’t try."

Asked whether it would rank as one of her gutsiest performances, she responded: "Definitely, because I had little or no movement. It was all about just hanging in there and hitting aces. I didn’t sense she [Daniela Hantuchova] was crumbling, no. I was really just focused on me and what I was going to do.”