Federer defies age with historic 18th Grand Slam title

In what was one of the most anticipated tennis matches in recent memory, Roger Federer had arguably his most unlikely Grand Slam victory with a thrilling five-set win over rival Rafael Nadal. You would have to go back 14 years to when Federer won his first Grand Slam in 2003 at Wimbledon over Mark Philippoussis to find a more unlikely win. He was a No. 4 seed in that tournament, his lowest seeding in any of his previous 27 major finals prior to being No. 17 at this year’s Australian Open. The match against Nadal was an emotional rollercoaster for fans, with momentum swinging more times than the balls were changed. Federer came out on top when it looked like in the fifth set he was falling apart after getting broken in the first game. It was that extra gear seen so many times over the years – but absent in recent Grand Slam final losses to Novak Djokovic – that pulled him through. At 35 and coming off a six-month layoff due to knee surgery, it was unclear if Federer would be able to maintain his level throughout the tournament. Perhaps this victory will pave a path for more players to trim down their gruelling tennis schedules.

Serena, Venus give fans another reason to smile

It wasn’t just “Fedal” stealing all the headlines over the weekend. The Williams sisters played for the 28th time in their careers, and for the ninth time in a Grand Slam final. Serena Williams defeated older sister Venus in a tight 6-4, 6-4 match to earn her 23rd Grand Slam victory passing Steffi Graf for the most all-time in the Open era (second most all time). Now Serena was expected as always to make a deep run to the final but Venus joining her there was just as big a surprise as Federer making the men’s final. At 36 years old, Venus hadn’t made a Grand Slam final since 2009, which was also a loss to her younger sister at Wimbledon. Both Williams sisters deserve the upmost respect for competing at such a high level.  So many other players will look at both Australian Open finals and be convinced that the longevity of their careers may be more than originally thought. All four finalists were in their thirties.

Raonic misses golden opportunity, but more are on the way

As the tournament unfolded, Canadian tennis fans sensed that this could finally be the year one of their own won a Grand Slam singles title. Djokovic was eliminated in the second round, while Andy Murray was shown the door in the fourth round. Those are the two players Milos Raonic struggled mightily with in his breakout 2016 season. A solid run to the quarter-finals was quickly ended in straight sets to finalist Nadal, who had his best tournament in almost three years. Raonic unfortunately was hit with the injury bug once again, just like last year in the semi-finals against Murray, and in the US Open versus Ryan Harrison. It was his adductor, an injury that has hampered him throughout his career. Despite the injury, Raonic put up a great fight and had six set points in the second set but was unable to convert. It may have been a frustrating loss, but there is light at the end of the tunnel. The two top players in the world are as vulnerable as they have ever been in the last three years and Raonic is ready to take advantage. He just needs to be healthy. The upcoming hard court season, which is showcased in Miami and Indian Wells, offers a great chance for him to win his first Masters title.

Genie makes positive stride

It’s been a great start for Genie Bouchard in 2017. A semi-final appearance in Sydney leading up to the Australian Open only had Canadian fans craving for more in Melbourne. It would be fair to say two match wins would be a positive step for her and that’s exactly what she did before losing to Coco Vandeweghe in the third round. Bouchard looked as good as ever, outside the magical run in 2014, and it seemed like the possibility was there for a deep run in the top half of the bracket. She came extremely close in that match against Vandeweghe, at one point only a handful of points away from defeating her in the third set. Unfortunately, Vandeweghe was playing the best tennis of her career en route to making her first ever Grand Slam semi-final. Bouchard’s ranking moved up back into the top-45 and a return to the top-30 is a strong possibility by mid-summer.

Tennis continues to provide incredible stories

The Australian Open provided a number of great stories that had the tennis world buzzing. Starting with Mirjana Lucic-Baroni, a player that competed in her first Grand Slam all the way back in 1997, finally made her first semi-final at the age of 34. Her story was magnified as the tournament progressed, playing Serena for the first time in a slam (Slam) in 19 years. Lucic-Baroni barely played tennis between 2003-2007 due to injuries and legal issues and few thought a return to the top-50 was ever in the cards. Her on-court interviews provided many smiles and tears for fans even outside of tennis and one could only imagine what was going through her mind as it enfolded. Denis Istomin and Mischa Zverev provided the biggest upsets of the tournament with wins over Djokovic and Murray. Istomin, who only got into the Australian Open after winning a wildcard playoff, followed up his win over Djokovic with another five-set thrilling victory over Pablo Carreno Busta in the third round but anything earned at that point was just gravy for the then-ranked 117th player. Zverev had to do some damage before defeating Murray in the fourth round and his presence was definitely felt. Just 20 months removed from being ranked outside the top 1,000, Zverev toyed with the No. 1 player in the world with a unique style of serve and volley that caused Murray problems all match.  The top two players in the world on the men’s side didn’t even make the quarter-finals, something that hasn’t happened since the 2004 French Open.