Venus Williams showed glimpses of her old form, which won her five Wimbledon titles, but glimpses, against the juggernaut that is Serena Williams, are not enough, and the world number one eased through to the quarterfinals at the expense of her big sister.
Playing their first match in a Grand Slam in nine years, plenty of quality tennis was expected, and the crowd was not left disappointed, as the two Americans belted one big forehand after another.
The difference in the end was Serena's better consistency and serve – boy what a serve – with Venus unable to find those similar levels to go down in two sets 6-4, 6-3.
"It's never easy, but you just play for the competition and enjoy the moment," Serena told the BBC after the match. "I think I served better and that proved to be the difference, as she was playing really well, but I was just able to come through."
Hints of how the match would swing were given from the first game as Serena broke Venus to take a 1-0 lead. The lead remained until the fourth game, when Venus broke back to level the opening set at 2-2, only for Serena, being Serena, to break back immediately and regain control.
That control would not be relinquished in the rest of the set, despite a few thundering forehands from Venus, who rolled back the years with some trademark shots, with Serena fittingly winning the set with a powerful ace – Serena had 36 winners to Venus' 15, with 10 of them aces.
The Williams sisters always seem to bring the best out of each other when playing against each other, and that was the case for much of the match, with the difference being Serena's poise in the big points and that overall confidence, which has won her three straight Grand Slams coming into the most important one of them all.
Having said that, however, the second set was a lot closer, as it remained on serve until 3-3, before Serena stepped up that superlative gear to break for a 4-3 lead, winning her third break point of the game, courtesy a double fault from Venus.
From there it was only a matter of when rather than if, and that when came in the ninth game of the second set, with Serena breaking Venus to love to take the match 6-4, 6-3.
Big beaming smiles and a hug followed, with Serena almost looking a little sheepish at the ease with which she saw off her big sister.
Ominous signs, though, for the rest of the players, as Serena, going by this performance, looks in the Wimbledon mood.
