A bad landing on her left ankle, a medical break, a limping return to court, a valiant attempt to continue… After 34 minutes of her opening match in her 20th Wimbledon, an agonising scream pierced the air. Serena Williams was on her knees, head down on the grass, forced to concede her dreams to injury.

The seven-time Wimbledon champion, and four-time runner-up – who had been gunning for an extraordinary 99th singles win here – had walked so purposefully on to Centre Court for her match against Aliaksandra Sasnovich in a statement one-sleeved confection of a dress but hobbled off down the tunnel after a tearful, emotional retirement.

Annabel Croft’s dismay in the commentary booth summed up the collective empathetic anguish of a stunned Centre Court crowd that included Williams’ husband Alexis Ohanian, her mother Oracene and coach Patrick Mourataglou: “The work that she’s put in to try and win this elusive 24th title… I just can’t believe the pain and emotion she’s going through right now.”

So another major has come and gone… and still the 24th Grand Slam title eludes the 39-year-old American, her chance to match Margaret Court’s all-time record cruelly snatched from her just six games into what was quickly warming up into an entertaining encounter with the always dangerous Sasnovich. And with a draw significantly de-fanged in the absence of Naomi Osaka and Simona Halep...

The No.6 seed had arrived on court with both ankles and her right thigh heavily bandaged. From her first service game, it was clear Serena had “her head in” and “her game on”. As she had said on the eve of the tournament, acknowledging the depth of talent in the women’s game, “You really have to show up now. There’s no longer matches that are going to be a sure walk-through.”

How poignant that her attempt to get her latest potential Grand Slam-winning campaign underway – as she edges closer to her 40th birthday – ended with the very opposite of a carefree walk-through: a laboured limp back to the locker room.

How bizarre, too, that it followed Roger Federer’s passage through to the second round, following the on-form Adrian Mannarino’s withdrawal through injury. For those two members of the Nearly Forty Club of Great Champions, fortune fell one way for one, another way for the other.

On court, Sasnovich had soaked up Serena’s power impressively and brought her own confident armoury to court, employing plenty of variety, delivered with an absolutely unfazed attitude.

Broken in the fourth game after saving three break points, the 27-year-old Belarusian immediately broke back… only to see her superstar opponent grimace ominously in pain.

After Williams said her reluctant farewell to The Championships 2021, Sasnovich had to assume the difficult role of victor at the microphone. Her charm immediately warmed a crowd still dazed by what they had witnessed.

“It was such a nice atmosphere here, my first time on Centre Court. Thank you everyone,” she began. “But I am so sad for Serena. She’s a great champion, but this happens sometimes in tennis. I wish all the best for her, and a good recovery.”

Asked about her own chances, she continued to brighten the mood. “I like grass, I love England, I love English people, the public. I will do my best for sure. I will try to make you happy.”

She said, "I was happy to play against her. She's a great champion. She has a lot of slams. It was a dream of my dad. He dreamed for eight years in a row, he just wrote me before the match, that I would play with Serena in Wimbledon, and, yeah, it's happens."

"Of course I wanted to play the full match, but it's tennis. It's happens. It's injury. Of course I was ready to play 100 per cent today. I was ready mentally. I was ready strategically. I was ready physically. I was thinking before the match, just go and enjoy the tennis, enjoy the atmosphere. Because I love England. I love the public. They really understand tennis."

Sasnovich, who came to the match with a world ranking of 100 and a five-match losing streak on grass, is now poised to make an impact. The former world No.30 can draw on the memory of the supersonic form that took her to the last 16 here in 2018, a run which began when she ousted two-time champion Petra Kvitova over three tightly contested sets in the first round.

If the Belarusian had planned to maximise the element of surprise against Williams – this was their first meeting – it will be her surprise to find her name on the score sheet which confirms Serena Williams’ first ever failure to progress to the second round at Wimbledon in 20 attempts.