The wizards of Old
It’s just like the old times again as Federer and Nadal resume a rivalry that has gripped the sport over the last decade
SPANISH SPITFIRE: Rafael Nadal is back to his fearsome best and goes for another grand slam title today THERE are sporting champions, and then there’s Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal — two men who cannot help creating inspirational storylines.
First we have Federer. Five years after his most recent grand slam title, he outlasted Stan Wawrinka in a sweaty-palmed semifinal. His five-set win carried us to the dream climax against old nemesis Nadal.
Federer, 35, is the oldest man to reach a grand slam final since Australian Ken Rosewall made the US Open final in 1974 at the age of 39, and his performances this fortnight have been reminiscent of the mid-2000s where he was the undisputed king.
Then we have Nadal, who showed his incredible fighting qualities to pull off one of his greatest victories in denying Bulgaria’s Grigor Dimitrov, 6-3 5-7 7-6 (7/5) 6-7 (4/7) 6-4 in four hours and 56 minutes in front of a rocking Rod Laver Arena crowd.
The Federer-Nadal final in Melbourne is a throwback in itself, with the pair not meeting in an Australian Open decider since 2009 when players such as Nick Kyrgios, Dominic Thiem, Belinda Bencic and 2016 Roland Garros champion Garbine Muguruza had not even turned pro yet.
The showdown was unlikely just months ago, when both men faced a return from injury.
Nadal now shifts focus to today as he had less than 48 hours to prepare, the Spaniard saying in post-match remarks that he’s honoured to share the stage again with his great rival.
“You know, for me, it’s a privilege and very special thing I think for both of us to be in the final again,” Nadal said. “It’s amazing to have another chance to compete against each other after a couple of years having some problems.”
But will this all turn out to be another mirage for Federer fans who have become used to having their hearts broken every time he nears a potential 18th slam?
His last three major finals have all ended in defeat at the hands of Novak Djokovic. But the man himself suggested this week that, despite his adductor issue, he is in better shape this time, thanks to his six-month sabbatical from the game: “What I’ve come to realise is when you don’t feel well, when you have too many problems going on, you just won’t beat top-10 players,” said Federer.
The longer this Australian Open lasted for Federer, the more he seemed to show the type of pure, unclouded judgment that was once the bedrock of his dominance.
He is playing with an insouciant abandon to recall the devilment of his Noughties pomp, when he could find the deftest angle at will.
Grinning at the improbability of it all, he acknowledged that the approach was working.
“I was talking to myself, saying, ‘Just relax, man’,” he said, trying to explain how he strangled countryman Wawrinka’s momentum in the deciding set.
On this court 12 months ago, Federer had lost the first two sets of his semifinal to Djokovic in 45 minutes, his usual defences dismantled.
No powers are ageless, and it seemed then as if his were attenuating. It would hardly have been a disgrace.
Andy Roddick, let us not forget, was born just a few months after Federer and stepped away from the game aged 30.
But where Roddick is enjoying the fruits of leisure on the golf course and in the commentary booth, Federer persists, even as a father of four, with the wisdom that he will be a long time retired.
One half-expects, in any match of his at the sharp end of a slam, to drink it all in, conscious that it could be his last, only for him to rise like Lazarus once more.
While Federer candidly claimed that he had surpassed all his own
It’s a privilege and special thing I think for both of us to be in the final again When you have too many problems, you just won’t beat top-10 players
expectations in Melbourne, this wonderful tale should not be regarded as an aberration. After all, he has achieved the minimum of a semifinal appearance in each of the last five majors he has contested.
Where Andy Murray and Djokovic have both fallen this fortnight to adversaries ranked outside the top 50, Federer still rarely blinks when it matters most.
The one prize most coveted by his disciples, quite apart from major No 18, is a shootout with Nadal. Everything in these two weeks of non-stop nostalgia has been telegraphed in that direction, as the greatest rivalry of them all heads towards a gloriously unexpected revival.
They call the Melbourne Cup, across town at Flemington, the race that stops Australia. But the 35th chapter of Federer versus Nadal would do nothing less than stop the tennis world. — © The Daily Telegraph, London SWISS PRECISION: Roger Federer will renew his great rivalry with Rafael Nadal in the Australian Open final today