After an almighty effort and an almighty scare, Swiatek reached that milestone in extraordinary fashion on Sunday, recovering from two match points down against Switzerland’s Belinda Bencic to join the last eight club with a 6-7 (4-7), 7-6 (7-2), 6-3 victory on Centre Court. The moon has been conquered; now the Polish top seed can shoot for the stars. 

It was a touch-and-go affair, Swiatek dropping a set she ought to have won, then snatching one she looked certain to lose. But her growing confidence on a surface where she has struggled in the five years since she won junior Wimbledon is palpable. Swiatek spoke after her win over Petra Martic in the previous round of how last month’s victory at Roland Garros alleviated the pressure she has felt this year – “I reached my goal, kind of, for the season,” she said – and although her stress levels rose as Bencic threatened an upset, the 22-year-old’s sense of freedom will only be bolstered by the manner of her latest victory.

“For sure this match is going to give me more belief,” said Swiatek, who will face Elina Svitolina, a 2-6, 6-4, 7-6 (11-9) winner over Victoria Azarenka, in the last eight.

“I’m happy that it was really tight and I could still play my game. These are important moments, for sure. You have to take all the positive stuff from matches like that.”

Having accounted for Zhu Lin, Sara Sorribes Tormo and Martic in straight sets, Swiatek was not found wanting when her game came under more intense scrutiny against Bencic. The Swiss 14th seed defeated Swiatek at the US Open two years ago and, unlike the Pole, has parlayed her 2013 junior Wimbledon triumph into senior grass-court success, winning Eastbourne in 2015 and twice previously reaching the last 16 at the All England Club. But while Bencic harried the world No 1 with her flat, penetrating groundstrokes, Swiatek held firm.

“I think it was an incredible match,” said Bencic. “I’m super proud of how it went from my side. I threw everything I could at her, and I pushed her to the limit.”

The pivotal moment came with the world No 1 serving to stay in the match for the second time at 5-6. Two games earlier, she had held her nerve admirably in identical circumstances, bookending a courageous hold with a pair of searing forehand winners, both of which found lines. This time, though, Swiatek was bristling with nervous energy. Her growing anxiety was evident in the previous game, where she failed to put a single return in court. As Swiatek raced from her chair to resume battle, Bencic cannily made her wait, the Swiss fiddling with her towel as she placed it in her courtside box. A wildly mistimed Swiatek forehand followed and, in a trice, she was 15-40 down. 

Facing two match points, Swiatek’s response was magnificent.

First came a deep 115mph first serve into the body, a pair of backhands that moved Bencic from left to right, and a forehand down the line that fell like an executioner’s axe, comfortably inside the lines yet laced with such speed that the scrambling Swiss could only frame it. 

Then Swiatek reversed the pattern, a forehand loaded with topspin pulling Bencic wide before a precise, perfectly calibrated backhand found the opposite corner. Swiatek went on to hold with another beautifully crafted point, rifling and then rolling her backhand to force the second tiebreak of the match.

“I don’t even remember how it was,” said Swiatek. “Usually, I know that I have kind of nothing to lose. Usually, I know that the player that is supposed to win this point is having a little bit more pressure. 

“I also know how it is to have match points and to kind of try to close it, but not be too impatient. I just wanted to kind of play my game no matter what the situation was.”

The shoe was on the other foot when Bencic fended off two set points at 4-5, 15-40 in the first set. On that occasion, Swiatek was thwarted by a missed return and an excellent Bencic drop shot. Indeed, acts of escapology were par for the course for the Olympic champion in the early stages. 

With her right arm and shoulder so heavily taped that you wondered if the tournament’s physio department had been obliged to order an emergency shipment of bandages, Bencic hit a pair of double faults in her opening service game and immediately faced three break points. She saved them all, and would save another three before the set was done. But once Swiatek had her nose in front, there was no coming back.

“I think so,” said Swiatek when asked at courtside if she was learning to love grass. “Every day my love is getting bigger, so hopefully I’m going to have as many days as possible to stay here and play on this court.

“For sure this is my best year on grass, so I feel really motivated because I know that even when you’re not feeling 100%, hard work is paying off.”

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A day after she announced her impending retirement in a magazine column, Williams arrived on court to a tumultuous reception and left bearing a bouquet of flowers, shirts gifted by the city’s ice hockey and basketball teams, and the love and goodwill of the 12,500 souls who packed the stands. Many had snapped up their tickets at the last minute, desperate to see the 23-time grand slam champion in the flesh one final time as she faced Belinda Bencic, the 12th seed, at an event where she has won three titles. 

Such was the demand to be part of the occasion that a further 5,000 people gathered outside in a hastily assembled viewing area . There was plenty to see, with Billie Jean King, Coco Gauff and Emma Raducanu among those who paid tribute to the retiring champion in a video screened before the contest. 

“Serena has transcended our sport, gone way beyond the boundaries of just being an athlete,” said King, “because of her stature, using tennis as a platform way beyond just the sport and giving back, and also making it better for women, particularly women of colour. It’s just the beginning for Serena.”

Yet it was also, undeniably, an end of sorts. Bencic saw to that. The Olympic champion was already part of Williams’ story in Toronto, having beaten her in the semi-finals seven years ago when she was just 18 years old. Williams was in her pomp back then, three-quarters of the way through a grand slam bid that would ultimately come unstuck against Roberta Vinci in the US Open semi-finals, and Bencic cut an emotional figure after handing the American what was only her second loss of the season. 

Seven years on, it was Williams who found herself choking back tears, although – on a night when tennis felt almost immaterial – her emotion owed little to a 6-2, 6-4 defeat and everything to the outpouring of public affection that followed it.

“It was a lot of emotions,” said Williams, who had beaten Nuria Párrizas Díaz of Spain in Monday’s opening round, after Bencic handed her the stage. “Obviously, I love playing here, I’ve always loved playing here. I wish I could have played better, but Belinda played so well today. But it’s been a pretty interesting 24 hours.

“It’s just been so memorable. Like I said in my article, I’m terrible at goodbyes, but goodbye Toronto.”

Bencic will move on to a meeting with Garbiñe Muguruza, the Spanish eighth seed; Williams, to a farewell tour that will take in Cincinnati before ending, in all probability, at the US Open, which begins in New York at the end of this month. 

There will be plenty more tears in the weeks ahead. 

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“My achilles still isn’t right, so I’ll see you next time,” the former world No 1 wrote on Twitter, shortly after her name appeared on an updated withdrawals’ list published by the tournament.

“Trying to find the positives in a negative situation, so all love,” Osaka later added on Instagram, alongside photos of her undergoing ultrasound treatment and acupuncture on the injury. “But there goes my grass dreams.”

Osaka, who has never been beyond the third round at the All England Club, has not played at Wimbledon since 2019. The 24-year-old withdrew last year to take time away from tennis following the furore caused by her decision to skip media duties at the French Open.

Osaka’s withdrawal comes after she suggested last month that she might not play at Wimbledon in light of the WTA’s decision to strip the event of ranking points in retaliation for the tournament’s ban on Russian and Belarusian players.

“The decision is kind of affecting my mentality going into grass, like I’m not 100% sure if I’m going to go there,” Osaka said following her opening-round defeat to Amanda Anisimova at the French Open. 

“I would love to go just to get some experience on the grass courts, but at the same time, for me, it’s kind of like – I don’t want to say pointless, no pun intended – but I’m the type of player that gets motivated by seeing my ranking go up, stuff like that. I think the intention was really good, but the execution is kind of all over the place.

Osaka, who is ranked 43rd in the world, added: “I feel like if I play Wimbledon without points, it’s more like an exhibition. I know this isn’t true, right? But my brain just like feels that way. Whenever I think something is like an exhibition, I just can’t go at it 100%.”

The 2014 Wimbledon finalist Eugenie Bouchard, whose name appeared alongside Osaka’s on the list of withdrawals, likewise cited concerns about the absence of ranking points as she returns from the shoulder injury that has kept her out since March of last year. 

“I have decided to withdraw from Wimbledon due to the WTA’s decision to not award ranking points at this year’s Championships,” said Bouchard, who would have needed to use her protected ranking to enter.

“Due to my shoulder surgery, I get a limited number of protected ranking [PR] entries. As much as I love Wimbledon and skipping it makes me sad, using a PR entry at a tournament with no ranking points doesn’t make sense.

“I must choose wisely and use my PR entries at tournaments that will help me get back to where I want to be.”

In Berlin, Belinda Bencic survived an epic match against Maria Sakkari, prevailing 6-7 (6-8), 6-4, 6-4 in three hours and seven minutes to reach the final for a second successive year. 

“I thought that was an incredible match,” said Bencic, the eighth seed. “We both kind of pushed really hard, we both didn’t give each other anything. I think it was high quality, of course we held our serves as much as we could, and I really felt like we put on a show.”

Bencic, who lost out to Liudmila Samsonova in the final last year, will play Ons Jabeur on Sunday after the Tunisian top seed saw off French Open finalist Coco Gauff 7-6 (7-4), 6-2.

Matteo Berrettini, the defending champion, will play Filip Krajinovic of Serbia in the final at Queen’s Club. 

Berrettini, who is aiming to win a second successive title on grass following his victory over Andy Murray in Stuttgart last weekend, came through a rain-delayed match against Botic van de Zandschulp of the Netherlands, 6-4, 6-3. The Italian second seed, a finalist at Wimbledon last summer, has won all but one of his past 20 matches on grass. 

“It feels unbelievable, I’m really happy” said Berrettini. “Today was a really tough match, we stopped for the rain, I had a lot of chances, I got broken when I was serving for the first set, windy again today – so really tough to play, but I think I played my best match of the week.”

Krajinovic, meanwhile, who had never won a tour-level match on grass before this week, upset seventh seed Marin Cilic 6-3, 6-3 to reach the fifth final of his career. The 30-year-old has lost the previous four.

“It’s just a dream for me,” said the 48th-ranked Krajinovic. “To be honest, I don’t like to play on grass. Every year, I find a way to skip the tournaments, just coming to Wimbledon, losing first round, and for the last 10 years it’s been like that. Maybe it will change, I don’t know. I’ve started to like it, actually, so let’s see how it’s going to go.”

In Halle, Daniil Medvedev is also through to his second grass court final in as many weeks after defeating Oscar Otte of Germany 7-6 (7-3), 6-3. Medvedev, who was beaten by Tim van Rijthoven of the Netherlands in ‘s-Hertogenbosch a week ago, will face Hubert Kurkacz in the final after the Polish fifth seed beat Nick Kyrgios 4-6, 7-6 (7-2), 7-6 (7-4).

“I didn’t play well in Halle last year, so I’m happy that this year I managed to raise my level,” said Medvedev, the world No 1, who lost to Jan-Lennard Struff of Germany in the opening round last year.

“As I’ve always said, I love playing on grass, so I’m happy to show to myself that I’m capable of being in the final of one of the greatest tournaments, especially on grass.”

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Belinda Bencic, who was defeated 7-5, 3-6, 7-5 by Fernandez in the third round at Roland Garros, could be forgiven for feeling a little bit New York too. For the Swiss, however, memories of what happened at Flushing Meadows are of a rather different hue. Flying high after winning an Olympic gold medal, Bencic stood within a round of matching the best grand slam run of her career when she was undone in the quarter-finals by an unseeded British qualifier named Emma Raducanu. We all know how that one worked out. 

This time, things were meant to be different for the Swiss. As the highest seed remaining in the lower half of a draw decimated by high-profile casualties, the nettle was hers to grasp. And when she stood within a point of moving 3-0 ahead in the decider, having bounced back superbly from the disappointment of failing to convert two set points in the opener, it seemed she had indeed, belatedly but decisively, taken control of a fluctuating, topsy-turvy contest.

Fernandez, though, is more than just a gifted shot-maker, and while she has struggled this year to reach the dazzling heights she touched in New York, the spirit and tenacity that served her so well eight months ago remain undiminished. The absurd crosscourt backhand that Bencic struck to lay the groundwork for an early break in the final set, an acutely angled winner delivered from so far off the court that she might as well have been sitting in the front row, would alone have broken the spirit of some players. But Fernandez continued to fight tooth and claw, never once considering that it might not be her day. 

“It was an incredible fight,” said Fernandez of her two hour and 48 minute victory over the 14th seed. “I think today I was just trusting my game when it mattered the most, and I’m just glad that I was able to trust it enough for me to keep going and keep executing the game plan.”

Fernandez broke back immediately and survived a break point in each of her next two service games, weathering some brutal returning from Bencic, before claiming a break of her own. When she failing to serve out the match at 5-4, she simply redoubled her efforts, reclaiming the advantage with some wonderful returning before serving out to love. It was a victory born of pure grit.

“I think after the US Open I put a little bit more pressure on myself,” said Fernandez, the 17th seed. “That’s normal, because I want to reproduce what I did in the US Open over and over again. I think after the first few tournaments, I accepted that I will not be playing the same way every single time. I will just have to find solutions and keep working hard. Over the course of the year I have just been sticking to that, just putting my head down and just grinding it out every day.”

Through to the fourth of a slam for only the second time in her fledgling career, Fernandez will next face Amanda Anisimova, the American 27th seed. Anisimova, a semi-finalist in Paris three years ago, went through after Karolina Muchova, the gifted Czech who is returning from six months out with an abdominal injury, was forced to retire after falling heavily on her ankle early in the second set. Muchova continued with her ankle heavily strapped, but was finally forced to concede with Anisimova leading 6-7 (7-9), 6-2, 3-0.  

Also through is Switzerland’s Jil Teichmann, who defeated 15th seed Victoria Azarenka 4-6, 7-5, 7-6 (10-5). Teichmann will face Sloane Stephens, a finalist in Paris four years ago, after the American saw off Diane Parry, the Frenchwoman who beat second seed Barbora Krejcikova in the opening round, 6-2, 6-3.

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Barely two weeks have passed since Osaka was reduced to tears by a heckler in Indian Wells, where she arrived talking of how she felt at peace with herself and left in a state of emotional turmoil after losing in straight sets to Veronika Kudermetova. After a well-documented period of upheaval in her life that prompted lengthy absences from the tour last year, it was the last thing the former world No 1 needed. Ashleigh Barty’s subsequent retirement only deepened the hope that Osaka, the winner of four grand slam titles but now ranked 77th, could put the episode behind her and set about rescaling the mountain.

There were more tears on Thursday night, but happily not a hint of sadness. As she contemplated the 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 victory over Belinda Bencic that moves her into the final of the Miami Open for the first time, Osaka felt a sense of happiness that has not washed over her since last year’s Australian Open, the last time she reached the final weekend at a tournament. It has been a long time coming, too long for a player of Osaka’s rich talent, but her joy was worth the wait as she quietly wept into her towel at courtside after the final point was won. 

“I’m just so grateful right now,” she later wrote on social media, after an emotional on-court interview in which she offered effusive thanks to the crowd. “Cheers to the ups and downs of life for making me appreciate this moment even more.” 

Osaka had come out on the wrong end of her previous four meetings with Bencic, and that trend threatened to continue when the Olympic champion secured an early break by clambering all over Osaka’s second serve to club two consecutive backhand winners. Another break soon followed, and it was not long before Osaka was contemplating her first dropped set of the tournament. Far from discouraging her, however, the setback only reinforced Osaka’s determination to keep pushing. 

“She was just playing really well,” said Oska. “In the second set I just told myself, ‘Listen, if she beats you, someone is going to have to carry you off the court in a stretcher, because you’re going to fight for everything.’”

Fight she did, and as a steady stream of winners flowed from her racket, so Bencic’s level began to drop. The tide began to turn. 

“The momentum definitely shifted a little bit,” said Bencic. “The wind was kind of swirling around. She started to serve better a little bit, and I felt like I couldn’t – also maybe with the wind a little bit – but I didn’t go through my balls so much. You know, they had just a little bit less on.”

It was all the encouragement Osaka needed. After a nip-and-tuck start to the decider, she broke in the fifth game and moved ahead 5-2. Bencic was not quite done, and a break in the eighth game forced Osaka to step up to the line for a second time. This time she made no mistake. A place in the final, where she will face Iga Swiatek after the incoming world No 1 defeated Jessica Pegula 6-2, 7-5, was hers.

Asked afterwards to describe her emotions, Osaka was emphatic.

“Definitely happiness,” she said.”I wanted to go into this tournament and test myself, and I feel like she was probably the best opponent in the world for that. I didn’t have good memories playing against her.  

“So, you know, I’m glad that I was able to get through… it wasn’t really relief, but it was definitely happiness.”

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After playing just four WTA Tour events, Raducanu will rise almost 100 places in the rankings, to the brink of the top 50; to put that in context, she was ranked 338th before her run to the last 16 at Wimbledon two months ago. At 18, she is the youngest woman to reach the last four in New York since Maria Sharapova in 2005 – a record that fellow teen sensation Leylah Fernandez held for less than 24 hours – and will now displace Johanna Konta as the British No 1.

In the space of a few short days, this remarkable young woman seems to have acquired more landmarks than the Manhattan skyline. Not that you’ll catch her counting.

“I have actually got no idea about any of the records at all,” said Raducanu, who will play Maria Sakkari in the last four. “It’s the first time I heard today that I was the first qualifier to make the semis. I had no idea before that. I’m not here to chase any records right now. I’m just taking care of what I can do on the moment and on the match ahead. Haven’t even started thinking about the next one yet.”

Of course she hasn’t. Like the rest of us, Raducanu scarcely seems able to believe it all. And in that, she is infinitely relatable. When she outrallied Bencic for the final time to complete her eighth consecutive victory, she clutched her head in incredulity, the familiar, radiant smile that never seems far from her face once again illuminating her features. Yet there is real steel beneath her affable, easy-going manner, and while she may have surprised even herself with the rapidity of her rise, that should not be mistaken for a lack of belief.

This was the second consecutive match in which Raducanu has had to recover from a shaky start, with the difference here being that she faced a significant step up in class. Like Shelby Rogers in the previous round, Bencic set out to overpower Raducanu; unlike Rogers, who was physically and emotionally spent after an epic victory over top seed Ashleigh Barty, Bencic looked pin-sharp in the early stages and remained competitive throughout. 

The Swiss made a commanding start, barely missing a ball initially as she broke in the second game and went on to open up a 3-1 lead. As against Rogers, Raducanu was swift to respond. Having come to terms with her opponent’s power and steadied the ship on her own serve, she made her move in the sixth game, trading blows with Bencic to earn her first break point. A snatched forehand betrayed her anxiety – or was it simply overenthusiasm? – but at deuce, a double fault from Bencic showed she too was feeling the weight of the occasion. A diligent return from Raducanu gave the Swiss an opportunity to miss, and Benic duly obliged.

With the match back on level terms, Raducanu went from strength to strength. She earned a break point for 5-3, punctuating a baseline exchange of breath-taking quality with a running forehand winner, and rifled a pass to convert the opportunity before serving out nervelessly. Bencic, who came into the contest with 13 wins from her previous 14 matches, survived further pressure at the start of the second set, firing a bullet of a backhand past Raducanu to avoid falling 15-40 behind on serve. She fashioned two break points in the next game – and later had Raducanu at 0-30 in both of her final two service games – but, to her evident irritation, was unable to recover suffering another break in the fifth game.

“She’s a great player, and I knew it was going to be an extremely difficult match,” said Raducanu. “It took me some adjusting at the beginning to get used to her ball speed, how aggressive she was. Once I adjusted, I settled in. I didn’t overpress as much. I found a way to win, but it was very difficult to play against someone at such a high level.”

Bencic was disappointed at her failure to “show what I can play”, but could relate to what Raducanu and Fernandez have achieved in New York. She too broke through at a young age, qualifying for the Australian Open at 16 and making the quarter-finals at Flushing Meadows the following year. Only now, with her Olympic victory at the age of 24, has she finally won a title commensurate with her talent, and she highlighted the importance of allowing the two teenage semi-finalists the space and freedom to develop at their own pace.

“It’s great for tennis,” said Bencic, the former world No 4. “It’s obviously great stories. I just really hope that everyone will protect them and will hope the best for them and try not to … kind of not destroy, but put so much pressure and so much hype around them that it just gets too much. I just hope everyone will stay, and will really hope the best for them, so they can just develop in peace a little bit.”

If things continue on their present trajectory, it is others who will need protecting from them.

Sakkari serves up a masterclass

Had someone said before the quarter-final showdown between Karolina Pliskova and Maria Sakkari that the winner would break once in each set, never face a break point and compile a sequence of 22 consecutive points on serve, losing a miserly two points behind her first delivery, one would have assumed that they were talking about the big-serving Czech. In fact, it was Sakkari who inflicted the damage, an inspired performance carrying the Greek to a 6-4, 6-4 victory as Pliskova struggled to find her best tennis.

“I served really, really well,” said Sakkari, the world No 18, who is through to her second major semi-final after reaching the same stage at the French Open earlier this year. “I didn’t realise, but Pam [Shriver, who conducted the on-court interview with Sakkari afterwards] said I served, I don’t know how many points was it, 22 in a row? Wow, yeah. I said on court I was impressed.

“I’m very happy I managed my stress level and my expectations. Especially at the end of the match, it was quite tough to close it out, but I think I did quite well.”

For Pliskova, defeat marked an anticlimactic end to an inspired summer. Since slipping out of the top 10 for the first time in five years after a first-round loss at Eastbourne, the Czech has reached the second grand slam final of her career at Wimbledon, the Canadian Open final, the last four in Cincinnati, and risen to fourth in the rankings.

“I didn’t have any chances on her serve,” reflected Pliskova, a finalist at Flushing Meadows in 2016. “I don’t think I played the best tennis today. I don’t think I was serving the way I was serving the last couple matches, which you have to serve against opponents like this, because she doesn’t give you much for free.

“I was actually not surprised, because I know she’s playing well, and we had one practice before this tournament. But I was quite surprised she was really going for her shots. I know she can be also, like, maybe passive at some times. She was not really. Even the match point, I thought she really went for it, playing really fast. Not many chances for me to play what I would love to play.”

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Bencic, who becomes the first Swiss woman to win a gold medal for tennis, could hardly have done more to earn her place in the record books. For the fourth round in succession, Bencic was taken the distance, prevailing in three sets just as she had done against French Open champion Barbora Krejcikova, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova of Russia and, in the semi-finals, Kazakhstan’s Elena Rybakina. It was a performance of courage, stamina and resolve from the Swiss sixth seed, who successfully negotiated a contest of labyrinthine twists and turns to subdue Vondrousova, the woman she partnered to the women’s doubles title at Roland Garros three years ago, 7-5, 2-6, 6-3.

“I think maybe the success I had very early made people think now it has to go very easy. It’s not like that,” said Bencic. “Everyone has their own time. Some people do it earlier, some people later, some people never, some people always. You never know, every career has its own story but the most important is to be happy with yourself.

“You always have to overcome difficulties. I don’t know any athlete who has only ups and no downs. Sometimes I found it a bit unfair that people thought I was out of the game, I was gone. I always did my best, I always worked hard and in the end, that was what I could rely on. I knew that I always gave my best and that was enough for me.”

While Bencic now has her sights set on another gold medal alongside Viktorija Golubic, whom she will partner in Sunday’s women’s doubles final against the top-seeded Czech pairing of Krejcikova and Katerina Siniakova, Vondrousova can reflect with satisfaction on a week that has brought unexpected rewards.

What a revelation the Czech has been in Tokyo, beating the second seed and home favourite Naomi Osaka in round three before powering past world No 6 Elina Svitolina in the semi-finals to record her best run since reaching the French Open final two years ago. Having arrived in Tokyo as the subject of scarcely concealed disdain from some of her compatriots after using a protected ranking to make the Czech team, edging out world No 23 Karolina Muchova, Vondrousova leaves with a silver medal and a point proved.

“It’s an amazing feeling,” said the 42nd-ranked Vondrousova. “Today I was feeling a bit tired, but I think we played an amazing match. To have the medal is so good, I’m just too happy, I’m not going to be sad.”

In a match of countless twists and turns, the early momentum was with Bencic. Alive to the danger of Vondrousova’s signature drop shots, the Swiss was sharp from the outset, pouncing on anything remotely short and pounding back her opponent’s southpaw serve to earn an early break. But Bencic failed to consolidate the advantage, some loose play handing Vondrousova a love break, and when she subsequently gifted her opponent a second service game with a double fault, she cut a frustrated figure.

Adversity has brought out the best in Bencic at these Olympics, however, and some aggressive play off the ground reaped immediate dividends as she broke back at the first time of asking. It set the tone for a nip-and-tuck conclusion to the set. The decisive breakthrough came in the twelfth game, Bencic forcing the play from the baseline and harrying her opponent into errors to claim the set.

That was the cue for a tactical shift from Vondrousova. Abandoning her go-to strategy of using sliced backhands, angles and drop shots to vary the play, the Czech moved inside the baseline to clump the ball with unbridled power. Fourteen winners and 39 minutes later, the match was level.

Vondrousova carried her momentum into the decider, quickly moving a break ahead. But Bencic’s team had been imploring her to keep going for her shots, and now she paid heed, once again seeking to dictate from the back. After a lengthy game on serve, the Czech paid the price for a second successive drop shot as Bencic pounced to drill home a forehand winner. Another exchange of breaks followed, but it was Bencic who proved the steadier down the home straight, breaking to love in the eighth game before serving out for the title.

“History,” declared Federer on social media. And so it was, a piece of Swiss tennis history that Bencic was quick to dedicate to the absent Federer, with whom she had planned to play mixed doubles before a setback with his knee forced his withdrawal from the Olympics.

“Roger wrote to me today,” said Bencic. “He said this is the perfect day to reach my dreams. I was really happy about that, and he was absolutely right. He’s incredible in that way. He really supports all the Swiss players – it’s incredible the support I receive from Roger, and this win is for him.”

Further history was made in the bronze medal match, where Elina Svitolina secured a first podium finish for Ukraine in tennis with a 1-6, 7-6 (7-5), 6-4 victory over Rybakina. Svitolina, the fourth seed, who was extended to a decider in each of her first three matches in Tokyo, once again did things the hard way, recovering from 4-1 down in the final set to claim the biggest win of her career.

“Coming here, for sure my goal was to win a gold medal, and it was extremely tough to lose in the semi-finals and then try to regroup and come again against a top player who is playing really good,” said Svitolina. “To win such a big battle for the bronze medal definitely means the world to me. Everyone in Ukraine is watching – we don’t win so many medals, you know – so for sure, it’s very special for me and for Ukraine.”

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There was the moment in the fifth game of the opening set when Djokovic groaned in frustration, disappointment writ large on his face, after driving a backhand long to miss a break point. There was the rifled backhand winner from Nishikori that brought up 30-30 in the next game – a chance, perhaps, to break the top seed’s serve for only the second time in the tournament – and the Djokovic ace that followed. There was the guttural roar emitted by the Serb when he saved a break point at the start of the second set, pulling Nishikori from one corner to the other before unleashing a forehand winner. 

A close match, then? Not remotely. Djokovic won 6-2, 6-0. Yet the sheer intensity of the Serb, his almost savage level of focus in the seemingly innocuous moments that make the difference between a resounding victory and a tight match, says everything about the mental fortitude his Serbian team-mates were so keen to learn about. The man is relentless.

There are times when the fervour of Djokovic’s approach can seem disproportionate to the task in hand. His unflinching desire to snuff out opportunities, to deny his opponents an inch, will be vital to his assault on the record books as he attempts a clean sweep of all four majors and the Olympics. Even so, it is not to everyone’s taste. 

Marcelo Melo, the Brazilian doubles specialist, felt Djokovic overstepped the mark in the opening round of the mixed. Melo, who partnered Luisa Stefani in a 6-3, 6-4 opening-round defeat against Djokovic and Nina Stojanovic, expressed disappointment at the way the Serb seemed to aim words and gestures at the Brazilian’s box, and also took exception to being struck by an overhead. 

“Novak surprised me, but in a negative way,” said Melo. “He had a smash directly in my back, which he didn’t have to play that way … We did nothing to him to deserve that. In one moment, he almost hit Luisa. Of course, these are the Olympic Games, everything is happening on the court. He does what he does during points, but he should have some limits.”

Djokovic, who brushed off the comments, is not about to alter his methods. Not with history at stake, and least of all against an opponent like Nishikori. The former world No 4, a bronze medallist at the Rio Olympics in 2016, is not the force he once was. A string of injuries – including problems with his wrist, elbow and shoulder, the last of which required surgery two years ago – has seen to that. Now ranked 69th, Nishikori married his long-term girlfriend Mai Yamauchi last December and will become a father for the first time later this year. At 31, other priorities beckon. 

Yet Nishikori, who has taken sets off Rafael Nadal, Stefanos Tsitsipas and Alexander this year, remains a dangerous player, and Djokovic was in no mood to offer the home favourite encouragement. “My level of tennis is getting better and better,” said Djokovic, who will play Alexander Zverev in the semi-finals after the German fourth seed saw off Jeremy Chardy of France 6-4, 6-1. “I know that I’m the kind of player that, the further the tournament goes, the better I’m feeling on the court. That was the case here: my best performance of the tournament tonight against a very good opponent.

“Kei, I know his game very well. Him playing in Japan, this court where he had lots of success, I knew that he’s going to play very quick and he’s not going to give me a lot of time, so I had to be very alert. I feel I had an answer for everything he had.”

In the lower half of the draw, second seed Daniil Medvedev crashed to a 6-2, 7-6 (7-5) defeat against Pablo Carreno Busta. With Medvedev looking tired after his energy-sapping win over Fabio Fognini on Wednesday, Carreno Busta, seeded sixth, recovered from 3-1 down in the second set to complete the victory.

“This was one of the best matches of my career,” said the Spaniard, who will face Karen Khachanov in the last four after the Russian beat France’s Ugo Humbert 7-6 (7-4), 4-6, 6-3. “Daniil is a top player, he is No 2 in the world and it’s very difficult to play against him. He plays with very high intensity, he plays at a pace that is very difficult to match, but today I managed it.

“I came here for a medal. There are four of us left and there are only three medals, so I need one more win to get it. At the moment things are going very well, the plan is going very well. I won’t relax and will continue with this intensity.”

Despite the later start start time of 3pm, a switch designed to avoid the hottest part of the day following complaints from the players, Medvedev once again struggled in the sweltering conditions. “I changed everything I had,” said the Russian of his wardrobe change after the first set. “I wanted to change my skin, because I was sweating like I never did before. It was terrible. I didn’t enjoy the conditions still, but it was much better than playing at 11.”

Medvedev, who acknowledged the superb performance of his opponent, added: “I couldn’t play better than I did today. I could serve better, but then I was wet like hell. I couldn’t toss the ball well, once I tossed the ball and got water in my eyes. It was not easy to play and I’m really disappointed with myself and for my country to lose in the quarters.”

Belinda Bencic will play Marketa Vondrousova of the Czech Republic in the women’s final. Bencic, the Swiss world No 12, saved six set points in the opening set to overcome Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan 7-6 (7-2), 4-6, 6-3. “To have a medal, it’s something I dreamed of, and I didn’t think it would become reality,” said the tearful Bencic, who is also in the women’s doubles final alongside Viktorija Golubic. “I’m beyond relieved and happy.”

The 42nd-ranked Vondrousova made short work of Elina Svitolina, the fourth seed, whose epic run of three-set wins finally came to an end with a 6-3, 6-1 reversal. “It’s an amazing feeling to represent my country in the bronze medal match, but I’m really disappointed today,” said the Ukrainian, who made 15 unforced errors to her opponent’s five.

“I tried my best, but I expected to go further. Unfortunately, there are other players who are playing well. It’s extremely tough and it didn’t happen today. Marketa played really well, a very solid performance, and I couldn’t find my best tennis.”

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