Can anyone stop Rafa Nadal from winning 10th French Open?
Can anyone beat Rafael Nadal at this
Roger Federer finally won his elusive 18th Grand Slam title.
And in so doing he took a major step toward solidifying his position as the GOAT in men’s tennis.
With his epic 6-4, 3-6, 6-1, 3-6, 6-3 win over his arch-rival Rafael Nadal, Federer won his first major title since capturing Wimbledon in 2012 and stretched his Grand Slam lead over Nadal to 18-14.
Had Nadal prevailed, the lead would have shrunk to 17-15 with the French Open looming. Nadal has won nine of his 14 majors in Paris. Now Nadal remains tied with Pete Sampras for second all-time.
“Roger Federer has solidified himself as the Greatest of All Time,” John McEnroe said on ESPN.
With the win, the 35-year-old Federer became the oldest man since Ken Rosewall in 1972 to win a major.
Federer also won the title as the father of four, as the No. 17 seed and after having taken a six-month layoff after re-aggravating a knee injury at Wimbledon last year.
“Tennis is a tough sport,” Federer said. “There’s no draws but if there was going to be one I would have been very happy to accept one tonight.”
Tears of joy for the champ #Federer #AusOpen pic.twitter.com/t048S5Spcm
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 29, 2017
“It was a great match, I think probably Roger deserved it a little bit more than me,” Nadal said. “I’m just gonna keep trying. I feel that I’m back at a very high level, so I’m just going to keep fighting the whole season.
“I’ll let Roger get the trophy and I’ll see you next year,” Nadal told the crowd with a huge smile.
Roger Federer versus Rafael Nadal.
The dream throwback final is on at the Australian Open.
“I feel that this rivalry is talked about outside the tennis world and that is good for our sport,” Nadal said. “The combination of two different styles that makes the matches really special.”
Yet no reasonable sports fan could have foreseen this matchup when the year’s first Grand Slam tournament began two weeks ago.
The 35-year-old Federer entered as the No. 17 seed and hadn’t played an official tournament in six months after a layoff triggered by re-aggravating a knee injury in his semifinal loss to Milos Raonic at Wimbledon.
Federer’s last Grand Slam title came at Wimbledon in 2012. His last Grand Slam victory on hardcourts was back at the 2010 Australian Open.
The tennis world is one step closer to a throwback dream final featuring Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer.
Nadal beat Milos Raonic 6-4, 7-6 (7), 6-4 to reach the Australian Open semifinals, returning to the last four at a Grand Slam tournament for the first time since winning the 2014 French Open.
“I think I’m not a very arrogant person so I always have doubts,” Nadal, 30, said when asked about Friday’s semifinal against Grigor Dimitov, against whom he is 7-1 all-time.
Nadal’s return ensures there’ll be three 30-somethings in the men’s semifinals, equaling the Open era mark set at Roland Garros in 1968. Seventeen-time Grand Slam champion Roger Federer, 35, takes on 31-year-old Stan Wawrinka in an all-Swiss semifinal on Thursday at 3:30 AM ET.
