FEDERER IN 28TH MAJOR FINALS; WILLIAMS SISTERS SET DUEL
MELBOURNE— It was one, two and three for the ages as Venus and Serena Williams set up another all-sisters final and Roger Federer ensured he’ll contend for another Australian Open title. They’re calling it Throwback Thursday at Melbourne Park: three players with a combined 46 Grand Slam titles and a combined age of 106 advanced to the finals. Six-time Australian Open winner Serena Williams overwhelmed Mirjana Lucic-Baroni 6-2, 6-1 in just 50 minutes in the second of women’s semifinals, after Venus Williams beat fellow American CoCo Vandeweghe 6-7 (3), 6-2, 6-3. The only person standing between 35-year-old Serena Williams and an Open-era record 23rd Grand Slam title is 36-yearold Venus Williams, the oldest player to reach an Australian Open women’s final in the modern era. She is the oldest player since Martina Navratilova at Wimbledon in 1994 to reach a women’s major final anywhere.
“It felt really good because I felt like it was in my hands to force this Williams final,” Serena Williams said.
At 35, Federer is the oldest man to reach a Grand Slam fi- nal—his 28th—since Ken Rosewall made the 1974 US Open final at the age of 39.
He had a 7-5, 6-3, 1-6, 4-6, 6-3 win in an all-Swiss semifinal against Stan Wawrinka, who has won three majors.
Federer captured the last of his record 17 at Wimbledon in 2012.
“I felt like everything happened so quickly,” Federer said. “It feels amazing. I never, ever in my wildest dreams thought I was going to be coming this far here in Australia. It’s beautiful.”