It was not the semi-final that the crowd had hoped to see but it was the result that both logic and form had suggested before a ball had been struck.
Jannik Sinner, the 23-year-old top seed, booked his place in his first Wimbledon final with a dominant 6-3, 6-3, 6-4 win over the 38-year-old Novak Djokovic.
It took him less than two hours to move past arguably the greatest player ever to lift a racket and book his place in his first Wimbledon final.
“I cannot believe it,” he said, looking just a little shellshocked. “It’s a tournament I always watched on the television when I was young. I would never have imagined that I could play here in the final.
“It was amazing. I know how much work me and my team are putting in. Today my dad and my brother arrived so it’s even more special.
“From my side, I served very well today. I was moving much better today and I think we all saw, especially in the third set, that he was a little bit injured. But I tried to stay calm and play the best tennis that I can.”
He looked calm by this stage. But when on-court reporter Rishi Persad told him that he was only the fifth man since 1995 to have reached the final of all four Grand Slams (the others are Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Djokovic and Andy Murray), he looked stunned again.
“Some good company,” he said. “It’s amazing. It shows I’m growing as a player on all surfaces.”
He could say that again. Sinner had to play the seven-time champion and the man who had beaten him twice on this very court before.
I would never have imagined that I could play here in the final.
Djokovic was taking on two foes: one was the top seed, the world No.1 and the man attempting to reach his fourth consecutive Grand Slam final. The other was a silent figure who has been following him around the globe for the past couple of years: Father Time.
Sinner was still wearing the heavy strapping, covered by a sleeve, on his right arm to protect the elbow injury he sustained in the fourth round. Not that it seemed to be hindering him.
Djokovic, too, was under the microscope. Had he recovered from that fall in the last round? Apparently so. But only in the first set.
Father Time looked on.
The match was only eight minutes old when Sinner made his opening move. He punished a short backhand from the Serbian with a thumping forehand. His movement was not so much fluid as a blur as he picked up a drop shot and turned it into attack with a lob that Djokovic could not handle. And he forced the backhand error that caused the former champion to drop serve.
The pattern had been set. After 33 minutes, the Italian had the first set in his grasp. He had dropped a miserly two points on his own serve; Djokovic leaked 13, four of them in the final game of the set.
And so it went on in the second set. Errant forehands flew long and wide as Djokovic was forced on to the back foot time and again.
It was not that he was playing badly – and he was trying every tactic he could think of – but the No.1 seed was simply better in every department.
As the second set went on, Djokovic’s error count rose, such was the pressure he was under. The only shot that was totally in his control – the serve – was keeping him in contention. But it was not enough.
After 69 minutes, Sinner was two sets to the good and the trainer was on to tend to Djokovic. The after-effects of his fall on Wednesday were beginning to tell and his left thigh needed massage and manipulation.
Something had to change if that dream of a 25th Grand Slam title was to be kept alive. That something turned up, out of the blue, 10 minutes later. Sinner mis-hit a high forehand and it skied away. Djokovic had a break point, his first of the match. When Sinner sank his next forehand into the net, Djokovic had his first break.
Young Stefan Djokovic stood and shouted his approval. Dad was fighting back.
This interruption to Sinner’s otherwise imperious progress seemed to rob him of his first serve for a brief spell. Djokovic had a point for a double break but Sinner managed to find a way out of trouble in the nick of time.
And then he broke back as Djokovic had a messy service game. Normal service had been resumed: Sinner’s precision, pace and power left his opponent chasing after shadows and in clear discomfort when he stopped. Djokovic kept trying, but the game was up.
As the great champion left the court and headed back to the Clubhouse, Father Time held the door open for him and followed him inside.