The American was on an eight-match winning streak coming into this match, having clinched the Nottingham title in the build-up to Wimbledon, but at 26 he has never been beyond the fourth round of a Slam. Encountering the 17-time Grand Slam champion brought his hopes of a debut last eight appearance to a grinding halt, as his efforts to take control with his serve and forehand made little headway.

Even when he broke Federer’s serve in the third set, his own first serve immediately let him down and the Swiss bounced right back. There would be no Fourth of July celebration for the American – Federer won 6-2, 6-3, 7-5 and has yet to lose a set this Fortnight.

“It wasn’t as easy as maybe it looked,” said Federer afterwards. “He really picked up confidence in the last few weeks. I would never have thought I would go through the first four rounds in straight sets.”

But he has, and in the third set of this match against Johnson, his desire to keep hold of that confidence-boosting knowledge was plain. He surrendered his own serve for 1-3, and it was largely Johnson’s failings which put them immediately back on terms. But all the while Johnson was like a dog with a competitive bone, and had the set reached a tie-break he might well have pushed the match into a fourth.

Instead, at 5-5 Johnson had a bafflingly horrible game. With an open court offering him easy options, Johnson opted to let a pass go by instead of patting it back over the net – bad decision, as it landed on the line. Worse was to come. For reasons which weren’t clear, he attempted a tweener and failed, creating two break points, after which he sent the ball long. Federer needed no second invitation and duly served it out on his first match point, courtesy of an ace. Johnson’s bid to be the first American man in the last eight at Wimbledon fell short.