Ash Barty won the first 14 points of her Wimbledon final against Karolina Pliskova, a record since such stats have been kept.
She raced to a 4-0 lead … and the fans who paid big bucks to be there got edgy.
Barty may be the most likable person in tennis but people had come to see a match, not a lopsided, short-lived thrashing.
So, they somewhat turned on her; politely enough, yet obviously. They loudly cheered on the Aussie's Czech opponent. Rapturous encouragement for Pliskova, muted praise for the rampant Barty.
"Because the start was such a flood in the direction of Ash, the crowd wanted a match," Wimbledon doubles legend Todd Woodbridge said on Nine.
"They're there at a Wimbledon final and they want to see something spectacular, and they kind of went … not so much against [Barty] but they leant on the side of Pliskova. That was an interesting moment in itself for me because I felt like Ash had to absorb the crowd not really wanting her to win for a moment."
Barty won the first set comfortably enough and seemed destined for a straight sets win. She was by far the better player … until mistakes crept in, first serves dried up and Pliskova finally found her range. She lost the second set in a tiebreaker.
The fans were all for it. At hundreds of quid per seat, three sets are better than one.
Wimbledon centre court was never anti-Barty, certainly, but they gave Pliskova a hearty push throughout as the Aussie threatened a historic rout. Even when the match had clearly turned thriller, Barty was getting only a share of the applause against the well-regarded Czech, who was chasing her first major title.
"I said to you at one stage [Woodbridge, mid-match], the crowd's gone to Pliskova's side in that second set because they wanted a third set, they wanted a match, which is understandable," former Wimbledon semi-finalist Jelena Dokic said on Nine.
"And that's another thing that Ash had to deal with and really try, in a way, to block out a little bit, so she did well there."
The start was quite astonishing, before Pliskova made Barty work for her moment of triumph.
"Horrible start," said Pliskova, a former world No.1. "That's why I'm more, like, proud about the way [I found] a way back in that match."
Barty was proud of staying mentally strong in the fluctuating final.
"She dug deep and found a way to claw herself back into the match," Barty said.
"Trying to serve out the match in the second set, I gave 'Kaja' a look in and she grabbed it with both hands. I think being able to reset at the start of the third was really important, just for me to continue to just turn up each and every point.
"That was all I was really focusing on, was just trying to do the best that I could every given point, regardless of what the scoreline was."
The crowd was generous with its post-match applause of Barty, who broke down in tears after winning the match they had envisaged: a classic nail-biter. Yet the many Aussies watching on home were less than impressed with the Poms.
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