With the man who shall displace him as world number one, Spain’s Rafael Nadal, too having been stopped mid-match by the midnight rain, Federer took stock of his disrupted Olympic aspiration. “It was one of my goals of the season to do well here,” he said, conveying disappointment by smiling more than usual. “The quarter-finals will not do it for me. James played well. I’m happy for him, he’s a good guy. I hope he goes all the way now.” Blake lost to Fernando Gonzalez later on Friday.

And then the brutal post-Wimbledon question, is there a problem with your game? Maybe the problem, he responded, is that he did not get enough practice. But look, he said: “It has always been difficult to beat these guys.” He must know that it is the fact that this revelation is made that defines this moment in his career. Because he finished: “Now I can’t hide under the radar any more.”