What made Andy Murray's victory over Roger Federer in the men's Singles final even more remarkable than the 6-2 6-1 6-4 scoreline was that it came only four weeks after he had been left tearful on Centre Court by his Wimbledon final defeat against the same man.
This time there were tears of joy as Murray swapped grand slam heartbreak for Olympic gold, climbing the well-worn route to the players' box to celebrate with his friends, family and coaching team.
The inevitable question now will be whether the world number four can turn Olympic Games success into a grand slam title, and we will not have long to wait, with the US Open starting in a fortnight's time.
For Federer, it was probably the end of his chances of completing the Golden Slam of all four grand slam titles and Olympic Games Singles gold, although he did not rule out competing in Rio 2016, when he will turn 35.
The Swiss already has a Doubles gold medal from Beijing 2008 alongside Stanislas Wawrinka and he insisted this silver was hard won rather than the gold lost.
Federer was undoubtedly compromised in his efforts by his epic semi-final against Juan Martin Del Potro, which he finally won 3-6 7-6 (7/5) 19-17 after four hours and 26 minutes, the longest three-set men's match in the Open era.
There was redemption for Del Potro when he beat Novak Djokovic to win bronze, Argentina's first medal of the tournament, while in the women's tournament there was only one name that mattered: Williams.
Specifically Serena, who overcame all before her in the Singles, losing only 17 games in six matches and only one in the final to Maria Sharapova.
The 30-year-old Williams did what Federer could not, adding the Olympic Games title to her Wimbledon crown and completing her career Golden Slam.
That was not the end of Serena's history making either, as she teamed up with sister Venus to win a third women's Doubles title, giving each sibling four Tennis gold medals, more than anyone else in history.
The men's Doubles title was also won by siblings from the USA, twins Bob and Mike Bryan, who added an Olympic gold to their long list of major titles.
Mixed Doubles returned to the Games programme for the first time since 1924 and it was Belarus who were celebrating as Max Mirnyi and Victoria Azarenka clinched victory, denying Murray a second gold with teenager Laura Robson.
The real winner, though, was the tournament itself.
Tennis players do not need the Olympic Games for money, prestigious titles or stardom, but they made it plainly obvious how much they wanted those medals.
No-one summed it up better than France's Julien Benneteau, who lay flat on his back on Court One with a look of pure joy on his face as he and Richard Gasquet sealed bronze in the men's Doubles.
As a moment, it was pure gold.
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