It was a sunny day for Roger Federer as he came out on top after a rollercoaster ride in the 35th chapter of his rival with Rafa Nadal to win his fifth Australian Open 6-4,3-6,6-13,6-3, and clinch a first grand slam title in four and a half years on Sunday. The 35 year old Federer capped his triumphant return from a knee surgery with a record extending 18th major title after a vintage battle with his Spanish rival who had won all three of their previous meetings at Melbourne Park.
Even Nadal returned from an injury this year however he sustained periods of his brutal best from the baseline but was not able to stay with his rival in the action packed match with the deciding set.
After the match Nadal said “Tennis is a tough sport, there are no draws in tennis but I would have been happy to accept one tonight and share it with Rafa,” “I would have been happy to lose to be honest, the comeback was as good as it was. I hope to see you next year but if not, then it was a wonderful year here and I couldn’t be happier tonight.” “It was a great match and I think Roger probably deserved it a little more than me,” the 30-year-old said.
“I played a great quality of tennis. That’s great news for me. I believe that if I have my body in the right condition, I can have a great year.”
Nadal further said about the match that “In the fifth set, I didn’t win one serve easily. Even if I played great in the break points, I was suffering a lot,” He probably remained a little bit more free on points on my serve. That’s what I needed in that moment, and I didn’t have.”
With Federer’s contemporary Serena Williams having won the women’s title for the seventh time on Saturday, the 2017 Australian Open is destined be remembered as the retro slam.
Federer gave a reminder that no one is immune to the ravages of time, however.
“Now it’s time to celebrate in a massive way,” he said. “(But) at 35 years old, I don’t like to say it, but I’m so old and so the body hurts, it aches.”
