Serena Williams overcame her injured older sister and the weight of history to retain her Wimbledon title on Centre Court today.
For the first time in an all-Williams affair the eventual winner dropped the first set before emerging victorious, 4-6 6-4 6-2.
But Serena's win was bittersweet as sister Venus was clearly pained by stomach and thigh injuries which had threatened her participation right up to the scheduled 2pm start.
And Serena's muted reaction to her conversion of championship point after Venus had pushed her final forehand wide said it all.
Venus was hampered by her injuries as the hard-fought match progressed, and disappeared for a medical time-out after dropping her serve in the first game of the final set.
She returned having had strapping around her midriff readjusted but clearly remained discomforted and Serena charged home to her sixth consecutive win against her sister.
Venus' injury, which flared up again during her semi-final win over Kim Clijsters, had ensured world number one Serena started the match as a heavy favourite.
But it was Venus who got off to a flyer with Serena cranking up her unforced error count.
Venus, the 2000 and 2001 champion, broke in Serena's first service game and although she was broken back she gained a crucial second break in the 10th game of the set to win it.
Venus' form might not have been contributed to a classic but initially she made it competitive enough to have the majority of the Centre Court crowd engrossed.
Serena, who also beat her sister in last year's final, finally found her range at the start of the second set and raced into a 4-1 lead with Venus' discomfort increasingly evident.
Venus took one break back but Serena managed to serve out to level the match. Venus' first serve visibly wilted as the third set progressed and she served a sad double-fault to give Serena the chance to serve out for her second title.