The outcome was the same though it was the imperious tennis of Justine Henin everybody was talking about this time when the Belgian top seed outclassed Serena Williams at Roland Garros yesterday.
Henin's 6-4 6-3 quarter-final victory means she has now won 31 consecutive sets at the claycourt slam. More importantly she is two wins away from equalling the hat-trick of titles achieved by Monica Seles in 1992.
Williams knew she was well beaten by a better claycourt player and warmly congratulated Henin at the end, a far cry from the bad-tempered 2003 semi-final when she was booed off court and later called Henin a liar.
Joining Henin in tomorrow's semi-finals is Maria Sharapova, who reached the last four for the first time by brushing aside fellow 20-year-old Russian Anna Chavetadze 6-3 6-4.
Jelena Jankovic and Anna Ivanovic also won, giving Serbia two women in the semi-finals of a grand slam for the first time.
Fourth seed Jankovic, the hottest player on tour coming into Roland Garros, beat 18-year-old Czech Nicole Vaidisova 6-3 7-5 while Ivanovic, also born in Belgrade, beat 2006 runner-up Svetlana Kuznet-sova 6-0 3-6 6-1 in a topsy turvy encounter.
"Wherever you go you just see Serbians all over the place, winning all these matches it's incredible," said the 22-year-old Jankovic, who will now face Henin in her first semi-final at Roland Garros.
Novak Djokovic has the chance to join them today in the men's event.
The 19-year-old Ivanovic romped to the first set in 21 minutes and dominated again in the third set after her Russian opponent, hampered by an abdominal injury, briefly came to her senses.
"It's very exciting for us and I'm sure people back home are very proud of us," said Ivanovic after going one step further than she managed in Paris in 2005. She plays Sharapova next.
Federer overcomes second-set blip
Roger Federer's 36-set record winning streak in grand slam tournaments was snapped by Tommy Robredo yesterday but that did not stop the Swiss from sweeping into the semi-finals with a 7-5 1-6 6-1 6-2 victory.
The world number one and Australian Open champion had not dropped a set at a major since losing the second in his four-set triumph over Andy Roddick in the US Open final last September.
Spanish ninth seed Robredo took the second set with a forehand crosscourt winner but it was not long before Federer was once again meting out punishment.
The Swiss won the next five games in a row and after steaming towards victory, he sealed his passage to the last four with an exquisite backhand volley.
Federer will meet Russia's Nikolay Davydenko who overcame Argentine baseliner Guillermo Canas 7-5 6-4 6-4.