Agnieszka Radwanska defended her decision to give winning semi-finalist Sabine Lisicki the weakest of handshakes after their epic three-set battle.
After picking herself up from the turf, Lisicki approached the net to shake hands with her defeated opponent.
Radwanska clutched her hand for a millisecond before turning away and rushing off court while the victor lapped up the applause from the Wimbledon crowd, who have taken her to heart ever since she knocked Serena Williams out of the tournament.
When asked why she did not spend longer at the net with Lisicki, Radwanska replied abruptly: “I didn’t feel like that at that point.
“Should I just be there and dance? What could I do?”
The snub was a sad ending to what had been a real humdinger of a match.
After watching Marion Bartoli take just 62 minutes to wrap up her semi-final victory against Kirsten Flipkens earlier yesterday, the Centre Court crowd were desperate for some entertainment and that is exactly what they got.
Lisicki put on a punishing display of powerful baseline tennis to take the first set and edge ahead in the second.
Her game then went into meltdown, however, as she lost five consecutive service games but the German rallied and eventually came out on top with a 6-4 2-6 9-7 win after two hours and 18 minutes on court.
Lisicki fired down nine aces, the quickest one clocking 122mph, and also reeled off some staggeringly powerful forehands from the baseline.
Radwanska deserves huge credit for the way she responded to the endless barrage of shots that flew over the net.
The Pole’s fitness was a major doubt before the match, but, despite heavy strapping on both of her legs, she covered all four corners of the court with ease and made up for her comparative lack of power with some splendid shot selection.
In the end it was Lisicki who came out on top, breaking at the second opportunity in the 15th game of the third set before serving out for a victory which made her the first German woman to reach a Grand Slam final since Steffi Graf made the last two at SW19 14 years ago.
“I’m overwhelmed and so happy,” a giddy Lisicki said afterwards. It couldn’t be any better for me. I’m playing my first Grand Slam final at Wimbledon. I can’t believe I am in the final.
“We were fighting, Agnieszka played so well throughout the match. It was a battle. I fought with all my heart and believed I could still win no matter what the score was.”
Lisicki was inspired to victory by a pre-match text from seven-time Wimbledon champion Graf, whose last appearance in a final at SW19 came in 1999 when she lost to Lindsay Davenport.
“I got a text from her,” Lisicki said. “It’s just an amazing feeling. She wished me luck before the match.
“She told me to go for it, and I’m just so happy.”
Three years ago, Lisicki feared her career was over when she suffered a serious ankle injury that sidelined her for months.
Now she is playing the best tennis of her career, as was evident in her victories over Radwanska, and top seed Williams in the last 16.
Just 23, Lisicki has only won three tournaments in her career the last one being on the grass in Birmingham in 2011. It would therefore be something of a fairy tale for the world No 24 to beat Bartoli this weekend.
“It’s something I’ve been dreaming about since I was a little girl,” said Lisicki, who hails from Troisdorf, a small town in western Germany.
“I just can’t wait to play Saturday. The first time I came to Wimbledon I fell in love with it. It was the place I always wanted to play at.
“It was always a dream to play on the Centre Court and win the tournament.”