Roger Federer of Switzerland celebrates after defeating Julien Benneteau of France in their men's singles tennis match at the Wimbledon tennis championships in London June 29, 2012.DYLAN MARTINEZ/Reuters
During a surreal 24 hours at Wimbledon, it seemed as if the tennis world's indestructible and invincible 'Big Three' could not, as Roger Federer summed up, "play tennis no more, right?".
Well, almost.
First Rafa Nadal was sent spinning out of the tournament by a brash, not-so-young, Czech journeyman ranked 100th in the world, then title holder Novak Djokovic also seemed to heading for an early checkout when he lost the first set to 33-year-old Radek Stepanek.
If that was not enough to set off the panic alarms, Federer joined in the drama when he went two sets down, and stood two points from defeat, against unheralded Frenchman Julien Benneteau.
While Djokovic spluttered and six-times champion Federer staggered into the fourth round, Lukas Rosol's incredible second-round win over Nadal proved that the so-called 'unbeatables' were very much beatable.
"What this victory of Rosol does is give great belief to other players that they can beat the top guys, which I think is great, even though it might not be that great for me down the stretch," Federer told reporters after pulling off his own great escape.
"I think it's great for the sport that it is possible, such a victory for a lower-ranked player. In terms of Rafa Nadal being No. 2 in the world and the champion he is, it's obviously a massive upset.
"I hope it does give many other players great belief in playing us in the future."
That 'belief' has been lacking in tennis's bit-part players for a number of years, and it is not difficult to see why.
So complete has been Federer, Nadal and Djokovic's tight-fisted rule of the sport for the last seven years, tennis had been lulled into a false sense of predictability.
It has been taken for granted that the all-conquering trio will feature in the second week of every major, and not without reason.
They have won 28 of the last 29 grand slams - it would have been 29-of-29 if Federer had not blown a two-sets-to-one lead against Juan Martin del Potro in the 2009 U.S. Open final.
They have won a total of 154 titles, which is more than the rest of the top 20 combined.
They have also dominated the top ranking since Federer first climbed to the summit in February 2004.
Such is their reputation that even former grand slam champions start quaking in their tennis shoes at the prospect of playing one of them.
But whereas 2003 French Open winner Juan Carlos Ferrero could only take seven games off Djokovic during their first-round encounter at the All England Club, the 26-year-old Rosol showed Nadal scant respect.
HEART AND FIGHT
He showed what tennis's bit-part players were capable of if they could just combine a little bit of belief with a whole lot of heart and fight.
"It was nice to see it's still possible. I think 15 years ago you had matches like this so much more often on the faster surfaces, that a guy could catch fire and just run through you," said Federer.
"Today it's virtually impossible because you make so many more returns these days and conditions are so much slower with the elements. It's so much harder to be in that state.
"(But) it was just amazing to see that it was possible... (Rosol's performance) in the fifth (set) was just a joke. I couldn't believe that he pulled it off the way he did.
"Every single point he was playing was either an ace, or a forehand winner or a full slapshot on the return.
"His attitude was amazing, the way he believed and tried everything out there to come though at the end against Rafa, who is such a great champion and who we know is so hard to beat early on in a grand slam. He doesn't give away matches just like that.
"I was laughing for 10 minutes after that for the sheer play of Rosol.
"Obviously with a player ranked 100 in the world you figure he'll throw in one... awkward game. He didn't, which was very impressive to see. That's why I love this sport."