High fashion was combined with high drama, as well as periods of high intensity, as Naomi Osaka returned to the All England Club for the first time in five years. In the end – she had been a break down in the third set, and the outcome was far from being a certainty – Osaka had her first victory on these lawns in six seasons and it really felt like a moment.

Dressed in an elaborate outfit that wouldn’t have looked out of place at the Met Gala, and which added to the sense of occasion on No. 2 Court, the Japanese took the opening set 6-1 in just 22 minutes. At which point it looked as though the wild card had too much power, too much class, just generally too much everything, for Frenchwoman Diane Parry.

Then came an unexpected turnaround, with Parry winning the second set by the same lopsided scoreline. When Parry went on to lead in the decider, Osaka put her head under a towel as she sat down at the change of ends, retreating into her own private space as she searched for a way to refocus and recalibrate. Whatever she was thinking or saying to herself under the towel, it was effective as she came from 1-3 down, including saving a couple of breakpoints at 4-4. It was unfortunate for Parry that she finished the match with two double-faults, giving Osaka a 6-1, 1-6, 6-4 victory.

Being back at Wimbledon “felt like a dream” for Osaka. “I hope the match was very fun for everyone to watch,” she said. “I wished I could say I enjoyed it all the time. My heart was racing a lot.”

There was even “a nice man” sitting by the court, Osaka said, who kept on encouraging her; there were stages in this match when she really needed to hear what he was shouting.

Much has happened in the six years between Osaka’s most recent Wimbledon match victories. She has won four Grand Slam titles, with two victories apiece at the US Open and the Australian Open. She has held the world No.1 ranking. She has become an icon in Japan and around the world. She has been the world’s highest-earning female athlete. She has become a mother (her daughter turns one tomorrow). And, more recently, coming into this summer, she has resolved to play better tennis on grass.

Becoming a force on the grass was one of Osaka’s goals on her return from maternity leave. The 26-year-old has been saying she’s like a newbie on the grass this summer, that it somehow feels as though this is her first season on this surface. She’s yet to go beyond the third round at the All England Club but there are some here who believe she can go all the way through the draw and lift the Venus Rosewater Dish. It helps that her coach Wim Fissette has strong experience at Wimbledon, guiding Germany’s Angelique Kerber to the title in 2018.

Osaka’s career has been built on hard courts but she has been showing of late that she can also bring it on clay and grass. If you’ve already won multiple Grand Slams, a second round defeat at a major doesn’t tend to feel that encouraging. But Osaka’s loss against Iga Swiatek at this year’s Roland-Garros was undoubtedly that as she produced a high level on the clay and even had a match point against the eventual champion. Now she has experienced another win on the Wimbledon grass, a first in six years, where can she go from here?