Federer says unlikely win came from taking a break

Six months away from game allowed his pain to heal.

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA — Roger Federer always believed he had more Grand Slam titles left in him.

He just didn’t think it would happen like this, playing in his first tournament following a six-month injury layoff. Or against his biggest rival in the game, Rafael Nadal.

“I said that also before the finals: If I were to win against Rafa, it would be super special and very sweet because I haven’t beaten him in a Grand Slam final for a long, long time now,” Federer said after beating Nadal in the Australian Open final 6-4, 3-6, 6-1, 3-6, 6-3.

A decade, to be exact. Federer’s last win over the Spaniard in a major final came at Wimbledon in 2007. Nadal had beaten him in four consecutive slam finals since then.

That’s what made Sunday’s victory that much sweeter. Federer said he felt OK, but he was tired for the traditional championship photo shoot.

“My legs hurt like mad and my back’s stiff now, too, because I couldn’t take any treatment, plus I was dancing,” he said of staying out late in Melbourne to celebrate. “I’m still on the high. I’m going to crash eventually but that’s OK.”

Federer, who confessed to being more of “a fun dancer” than a good one, said he was thrilled his 2-year-old twin boys Leo and Lennart got to experience their father winning a Grand Slam for the first time, while 7-yearold daughters Myla Rose and Charlene Riva were “super excited” to see his trophy.

They weren’t the only ones to grasp the significance of perhaps Federer’s most unlikely Grand Slam win of his 18, and his first since Wimbledon in 2012.

“People seemed genuinely really happy for me that I won a slam again, particularly this one (because) maybe it’s a bit of a fairytale after the comeback to come back this way,” he said. “On so many levels I just felt like a lot of people were happy and that’s almost more important than me being happy.

“I was aware it was a big match but maybe not quite like this.”

Both Federer, 35, and Nadal, 30, didn’t expect to be in this position at the Australian Open, coming off long layoffs last season to recover from injuries.

Federer has rarely missed significant stretches with injuries throughout his career. This is the man, after all, who played in a record 65 consecutive Grand Slams — a streak that was broken when he withdrew from last year’s French Open with a back injury.

In recent years, however, he’s acknowledged making mistakes by playing through pain instead of taking time off to heal.

Last year, he did things differently — he took an extended break for the first time. And after six months off to fully heal his knee, he came back stronger than ever.

“What I’ve just come to realize is when you don’t feel well, you have too many problems going on, you just won’t beat top-10 players,” Federer said after his semifinal win over Stan Wawrinka.

“That’s where both, I guess, Rafa and myself said, ‘OK, enough of this already. Let’s get back to 100 percent, enjoy tennis again, enjoy the practice.’ ”

Hoisting his first major trophy in five years, Federer is certainly enjoying the tennis again.

“I hope to be back next year of course,” he said. “That’s why I took the six months off to hope I can still be playing for a couple of years.”

Roger Federer won his 18th career Grand Slam on Sunday.