Serena Williams gained the perfect remedy for her illness by beating Lucie Safarova to win the French Open for a third time on Saturday.
The world number one was unable to practice or face the media on Friday, revealing she was suffering from flu which hampered her during a semi-final victory over Timea Bacsinszky the previous day.
Top seed Williams reaped the rewards for putting her feet up, claiming a 20th grand slam title with a great display of power and precision to win 6-3 6-7 (2-7) 6-2 on Court Philippe Chatrier.
Safarova battled back from 4-1 and 40-15 down to win the second set - through a combination of some classy shots and Williams' woes on serve - but the imperious American regained her composure after losing serve in the decider and was not to be denied yet another triumph on a sunny day in Paris.
It is the first time the legendary Williams has won the Australian Open and French Open in the same year and she will hold all four grand slams if she triumphs at Wimbledon.
Williams racked up nine double-faults and 42 unforced errors on Saturday, but still had the armoury to get the job done and has won all nine of her matches against Czech left-hander Safarova.
Safarova eased the nerves with a stunning backhand to win the second point of the contest, but Williams conjured up a sublime backhand of her own before holding with a thumping ace.
The next two games also went with serve, as both players treated a packed crowd to some high-quality shots - with Williams particularly clinical on the backhand.
Safarova came under pressure in the fourth game and was unable to prevent Williams from winning the first break point of the match, with the American fizzing a sublime cross-court forehand winner which passed the Czech in a flash.
Williams earned a set point on the Safarova serve at 5-2, but the underdog stood firm for a battling hold.
She was unable to deny the 33-year-old in the following game, putting a forehand into the net and prompting Williams to bellow a roar of delight.
Things were looking bleak for Safarova when Williams raced into a 4-1 lead in set two - her second break sealed with another sumptuous backhand.
A swift conclusion to proceedings appeared likely, but a forehand down the line gave Safarova a break point and Williams provided a glimmer of hope by double-faulting to make it 4-2 and then doing the same two games later to allow her opponent to draw level at 4-4.
Williams broke back to give herself the opportunity to serve for the match, but Safarova was not finished yet and a fine backhand winner forced a tie-break.
She then carried the momentum into the breaker to level the match by claiming three mini-breaks, and triumphed against the Williams serve in the first game of the decider to raise hopes of what had looked such an unlikely victory.
Williams was losing her cool in the heat, but responded to break back as this time Safarova double-faulted to make it 2-2.
Another loud Williams shreak was let off when Safarova went wide to give the American a 4-2 lead.
Williams then earned three match points on the Safarova serve and the Czech could only swat a forehand into the net to allow the world number one to celebrate yet another grand slam success.