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Words of encouragement from legend Billie Jean King spurred Maria Sharapova as she steamrolled her way to a third Grand Slam title, beating gallant Serbian Ana Ivanovic in what the unkind billed "the shrieker vs the squeaker" in the Australian Open singles final.
But, even in a 7-5,
6-3 triumph, the leggy Russian still struggled to win over the record crowd. Brilliant in a white fringed dress, her blonde pony-tail pulled behind a white visor, Sharapova fairly shimmered on Rod Laver Arena.
Ivanovic's shoes still squeaked (as complained of by beaten semifinalist Daniela Hantuchova) when she returned - though not so much as previously - and Sharapova shrieked as play got under way.
Before the match, Sharapova received a text message from King - the winner of the Open here 40 years ago - which said, in part... 'champions take chances, winning is a privilege'.
With that to spur her and shrugging off any distraction from the rowdy Serbian fans, Sharapova went to work - giving her only slightly younger opponent little more than the scraps.
The Serbian was the crowd's darling from the outset. Even in defeat, she was the crowd favourite and was later acknowledged as the new world No 2 (her highest ranking and up from the fourth spot she has held since August).
But apart from a brief glimmer of hope in the first set when she had Sharapova battling at 0-30 and within two points of breaking to take the set, it was mostly uphill for Ivanovic.
Against a grunting Sharapova, who even managed to toss in a Lleyton Hewitt-like "C'mon" at one stage, Ivanovic battled resolutely but in the end had to admit Sharapova had handed her a pasting.
"I'm very emotional and you guys made it very special for me out here," said Ivanovic after a 1h 31m battle she rarely threatened to win in a sweltering Rod Laver Arena.
Beaten but in no way downhearted, Ivanovic took something from the match. "It was definitely a better experience than my first [of now two] Grand Slam finals. I won more games for a start. But, you know, it is still a learning experience for me. I fought hard, you know."
No one ever doubted that.
It was just that she had a forehand which her lanky opponent pounced on and backed that up with almost surreal service games.
The battle of the 20-year-olds had only brief moments of real classical tennis - Sharapova's superior serve saw to that - but the 17,250 spectators, the biggest ever for the penultimate day of the Australian Open, only rarely warmed to the Russian as she shed the loser's crown she had picked up a year earlier to win her third Slam after successes at Wimbledon (2004) and the US Open (2006).
At end of the day, the fifth seed had beaten the fourth seed, had picked up the winner's cheque of A$1,370,000 and taken her lifetime record over the ever-popular Ivanovic to 3-2.
The stats told the story not only of the match but the tournament. The ever-deliberate Sharapova dropped no points in her first three service games in racing to 4-2 in the first set, had a hiccup in the eighth game when she twice double-faulted in allowing Ivanovic back to 4-4 before normal service returned as she served it out to love for 7-5.
The second set was more of the same. In four service games, she dropped only two points in taking it 6-3 in just 42 minutes.
The Russian's serve was something else, however. Powerful and well-directed, she dominated on her own delivery.
She got the breakthrough in the fifth game when she slammed a backhand winner to move 3-2 ahead. That winner was accompanied by the loudest shriek of the match - so loud, a baby in the stands started crying.
But when asked later if she had ever turned in a better serving performance, Sharapova said she felt it was not her best.
Instead she pointed to her wins over Lindsay Davenport and world No 1 Justine Henin, matches in which she dropped just four games in winning 6-1 6-3 and 6-4 6-0.
But there is no doubt it was that outstanding serve which got her through her six-match schedule without dropping a set.
Then, asked whether this year's triumph was more satisfying because of what happened last year losing to Serena Williams, Sharapova said, simply: "No. Just satisfying, period, to win a Grand Slam, and to win one that you've never won before, especially after some of the tough losses that I've had."
