Justine Henin held her nerve to battle through the brave resistance of Serena Williams and seal her place in the Wimbledon semi-finals after a heavyweight slugfest on Centre Court.
After one hour and 45 minutes of absorbing action, the top-seeded Belgian wrapped up a 6-4 3-6 6-3 victory, but only after surviving a spirited fightback by her opponent when all had seemed lost.
Heavily strapped from the left calf injury which almost ended her tournament against Daniela Hantuchova in the previous round, Williams took the court despite apparently been advised by her father Richard not to play.
But any suggestions of passivity surrounding a contest between two players who have have their disagreements in the past was extinguished by the first point of the match.
Henin attempted a drop shot designed to fully test the extent of Williams' injury, which the seventh seed not only chased down successfully but proceeded to bash her return straight at her opponent.
In tough, gusty conditions the game ebbed and flowed and looked set for one final dramatic twist when, under darkening skies, Williams hit back from 5-1 down in the decider to heap the pressure back on her opponent.
And had Henin not scrambled a winning drop shot to haul herself back to 30-30 the second time she served for the match, Wimbledon might have been talking about one of the greatest comebacks in its history.
Henin, 5ft 5ins of seething intensity, claimed the advantage at the crucial point of the first set when a super service return broke for 5-4, and she duly served out to move ahead.
But Williams, showing few ill-effects from her injury, let out a roar of defiance after a forehand winner in the opening game of the second set, and proceeded to move deeper inside the baseline to attack the Henin serve.
A soft service game from Henin presented Williams with her first break, and although she was immediately broken back, she promptly returned the favour before serving out with a successfully challenged ace to level the score.
Henin shrugged off the disappointment almost immediately, waltzing a double break up in the final set before she appeared to become distracted by the black clouds overhead and rushed her first attempt to serve out.
The second time, however, Henin scrambled home to her obvious delight, and few if any would bet against her booking another appearance back in the Wimbledon final when she meets Marion Bartoli of France in the last four.
