Low on grass court confidence, Casper Ruud couldn't summon up some big Viking energy on Centre Court, not even when his second round match against British wild card Liam Broady went into a fifth set.
Of the two, it was Broady who went into final-set warrior mode.
As Broady grew stronger, slashing and swinging in the afternoon sunshine, the Norwegian No.4 seed faded away, going down 6-0 in an unexpected and extraordinarily one-sided conclusion.
Ruud's forehand, such a weapon on clay and hard courts, couldn't save him here. He experienced his worst Grand Slam defeat - never before had he lost to an opponent ranked as low as world No.142.
When Ruud led by two sets to one, it appeared he was about to go deeper than ever before into The Championships by making the third round for the first time.
But things can change quickly on Centre Court. It turned out to be the biggest deal of Broady's tennis life, with the left-hander from Stockport taking down one of the top seeds to equal his best result at his home Slam, and all on the grandest stage of all, even if he joked that he would have preferred to have played this in the north west of England and not in south west London.
"I would have liked to have played him back home at Stockport but Centre Court will do. Last night I thought about what I would say if I won this match. Now I don't know what to say. It's a terrifying, exhilarating experience going out on Centre Court. It's been my dream since I was five years old," Broady said after his 6-4, 3-6, 4-6, 6-3, 6-0 victory.
Put Ruud on a clay or hard court and he will rip forehands all day. He has reached the final of three of the last five Grand Slams, including on the red dirt of Roland-Garros last month.
But on grass he doesn't have the same belief that he can take a giant swing and still keep his footing. The result is that he plays much more tentatively and passively.
Much has been made of Ruud's leisure activities between playing in the Roland-Garros final against Novak Djokovic and walking through the gates of the All England Club. While others toiled at grass court tournaments, he was golfing, clay-pigeon shooting and partying at a couple of The Weeknd concerts in Oslo and Stockholm.
But the issue appeared to be technical rather than how he had chosen to spend his downtime.
Broady would have noted Ruud's comments about feeling uneasy on the grass.
Doubtless, he also would have been aware that he already had a superior Wimbledon record to the Norwegian, having made the last 32 last year as well. Broady used to come to Wimbledon each summer with a substantial beard, looking a bit like a Viking himself, but this Fortnight he is clean-shaven. He's all business and he goes through to play Canada's Denis Shapovalov, a former semi-finalist.
Ruud's father and coach, Christian, lost in the first round on every one of his five appearances at the All England Club.
Something about the Wimbledon grass seems to disagree with the Ruud family. But Casper will be back and he will be better. He's too good a player not to improve on his Wimbledon record.
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