For 35 minutes on Centre Court Serena Williams was knocked off her stride by a feisty Italian who looked as though she had ripped a page from the American’s tennis manual.
Playing in her first Grand Slam quarter-final, unseeded Camila Giorgi went toe-to-toe with the seven-time champion and became the first player to take a set off her so far.
All eyes were on 36-year-old mum Williams to see how she would respond to such a challenge to her supremacy at Wimbledon, where she is unbeaten since 2014.
The answer was emphatic.
Williams raised her intensity level, added some velocity to her groundstrokes and some decibels to her growls and powered back to win 3-6 6-3 6-4 — a scoreline that was a touch closer than what actually transpired on court.
Williams has fallen 13 times in Grand Slam quarter-finals — more than in any other round — but was never panicked.
“It’s weird. Sometimes I feel, ‘man, I’m in trouble’. Sometimes I feel, I can fight. For whatever reason, today I was so calm. Even when I was down the first set,” Williams who ended with 24 winners and only nine unforced errors, said.
“I never felt it was out of my hands. I can’t describe it. I just felt calm. Hoping I can channel that all the time.”
Considering she went through a difficult childbirth nine months ago and played only a handful of matches this year before her 18th Wimbledon, her physical condition has been impressive.
“I’m not tired at all,” said Williams, who has avoided any seeds in reaching 11th Wimbledon semi-final. “When I was out there today, not once was I out of breath.
“Maybe it’s because there weren’t many long points, but, hey, got to look at the positives, right?”
There were many of them — not least her mighty serve.
