A smile formed across Novak Djokovic's face as he rocked backwards and forwards behind the baseline.
Centre Court was as loud as it had been all evening, the 'Novak, Novak, Novak' chants echoing around the stands.
Djokovic nodded along, soaking it in. The recent mantra of Lewis Hamilton came to mind, central to his own bid to defeat Father Time and recreate past glories: "Remember who you are."
Perhaps Djokovic was trying to remember he is perhaps the greatest returner the sport has seen. That was easy to forget at times here.
It was an hour and 55 minutes into this Wimbledon semi-final with Jannik Sinner and for the first time all match, Djokovic had a break point.
Maybe Djokovic was trying to remind himself he was the man for a marathon occasion. That he had won every match he has ever played longer than five hours. That Sinner had lost every one longer than four.
Dragging the world number one that far, though, felt like a pipe dream. This was a beat down and a ruthless demonstration that he no longer sits at tennis' top table.
Djokovic was still smiling, this time ruefully, as Sinner thundered down an ace to save that break point. Another one followed to secure the hold.
There would be no more opportunities. Sinner raced to the finish line, a 6-4 6-4 6-4 scoreline as flattering to Djokovic as he could have hoped. For the second year in a row, the Italian dispatched him in a Wimbledon semi-final.
"Was a good old blowout," Djokovic offered as a summation. "Nothing much I could do.
"He was just at cruising speed and I couldn't catch him."
The 39-year-old has now lost six semi-finals and two finals since the most recent of his 24 Grand Slam titles, three years ago at the US Open.
Djokovic is still capable of getting to within sight of the summit. Taking the last steps to climb up to it have never been so difficult.
The Serb was the oldest man to feature in the men's singles semi-final at Wimbledon since 1974 and he must now decide whether he fancies another crack at it at the age of 40.
"I would like to, at least one more time," Djokovic said. "Let's see."
Sinner, meanwhile, will have the chance to defend his Wimbledon crown against Alexander Zverev. He will be favourite for a fifth Grand Slam title.
These championships began in unconvincing fashion for the Italian. He needed five sets to get past Djokovic's compatriot Miomir Kecmanovic. More than once in his press conference, Sinner has admitted his forehand was not where he wanted it to be.
There were no such issues here. His serving was sensational and the groundstrokes were relentless too, 40 winners in all to go with 15 unforced errors.
Having been beaten by Djokovic in the semi-finals of the Australian Open in January, this was an emphatic statement.
The first set quickly settled into a pattern of routine holds as it became clear break opportunities would be at a premium.
Djokovic saved one with a brave backhand down the line and it remained level through to 4-4. Sinner brought up two more break points, wasted the first with a terrible smash at the net, but more than made amends with a stunning backhand pass.
The world number one wrapped up a set in which he dropped just four points on serve and produced 14 winners to go with only four unforced errors.
Already Djokovic's hopes felt slim. His problem was not just Sinner's level but the mileage in his legs, having come through an epic quarter-final against Felix Auger-Aliassime in five hours and 15 minutes.
Every slim opportunity on Sinner's serve was heightened. Djokovic knew as much, sinking to his knees when he got too cute with a drop shot at 30-30.
Djokovic saved two break points to hold for 3-2 but the pressure continued to come. In the next service game, Sinner brought up two more chances with a sublime backhand winner and took the second with a perfectly disguised drop shot.
Over the years, few have been better at breaking straight back than Djokovic. Here, he watched Sinner fire down three consecutive aces to consolidate the break.
When it was put to him after the match that he was the best returner in tennis history and still looked helpless at times with Sinner's serve, Djokovic interjected: "Was, was. That's the reality. Was, was."
Sinner moved two sets in front and it threatened to turn into a procession. Djokovic staved off three break points but not a fourth as he sent a volley into the net.
It was nearly a double break, too, only for Djokovic's first serve to get him out of trouble and just about keep him in the match.
Then came Djokovic's one sniff of a break, of a first step towards the most improbable of comebacks. It went as quickly as it came, Djokovic's smile an acceptance of the reality, even if he saved another break point later in the set and kept Sinner honest all the way to the end.
Acceptance that it would be Sinner facing Zverev on Sunday and that a record 25th Grand Slam title has been pushed further into the distance. The painful acceptance, too, that this might now be his ceiling.
"I'm blessed and cursed to be used to something of a highest degree in terms of results and achievements," Djokovic said.
"I'm also dealing with myself in a sense that I'm telling myself, 'look, this is amazing that you're still able to play at such a high level and push the youngsters to the limit for Grand Slam titles', which is true.
"But at the same time, I always have the highest expectations for myself. It's kind of that internal battle really of what I've been through for the 20-plus years of my career, what the goals were always, the expectations, and trying to balance it out and really be a little more humble in that sense.
"I don't have any pressure or no one is forcing me to play. I do it because I really want to and because I still can.
"I still can play as a top ten, top five player. Let's see what the future brings."
