Strong set nine played (7)
I believe the answer is:
intense
'strong' is the definition.
('intense' can be similar in meaning to 'strong')
'set nine played' is the wordplay.
'played' is an anagram indicator.
'set'+'nine'='setnine'
'setnine' with letters rearranged gives 'INTENSE'.
(Other definitions for intense that I've seen before include "Very concentrated or passionate" , "'Acute, extreme (7)'" , "Strong in degree or emotion" , "Highly emotional" , "Acute, exteme" .)