During Wimbledon’s first week you had to squeeze into the outside courts to catch repeat-viewings of what Venus Williams does best: rocket-launching that snorting, sliding serve before moving as softly as a dancer into position and killing the point with a wonderfully wicked groundstroke. It was a welcome blast from the past, a reminder of the days when Venus was regularly ascendant over SW19. Rarely in tennis history has destruction been delivered with such grace.
But now, after a week out of the headlines and headlights, she steps on to Centre Court on the stroke of 1pm on Monday to face her sister Serena.