Screw the Oscar nominations (it’s just going to be a La La Land fest anyway) what’s got us buzzed is this year’s Australian Open which will possibly see tennis royalty, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal together again in a major final. A tale as old as time, the clash of these two greats has been a long and tumultuous one laden with injuries, time-offs and early defeats in the recent years but now here they both are in the second week of the year’s first major tournament with world champions Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic making unexpected early exits. Although they still have their semi-finals to go, fan fervour is pulsing at the prospect of “Fedal”- the moniker given to the two players’ rivalry as seen in previous prolific matches.
Wimbledon 2008
Widely considered as one of the greatest matches ever played, it was Nadal’s first Wimbledon win and the end of Federer’s run of five consecutive titles.
2009 Australian Open
The down under doesn’t seem to favour Federer, he’s been beaten by Nadal all three times they’ve played in Melbourne most notably in the finals of 2009 that saw Federer burst into tears during the trophy presentation, overcome at his inability yet again to trump Nadal’s resolve in a fifth set.
As two distinctly different players, both have bagged more than their fair share of grand slam victories- Federer has won 17 grand slams and Nadal has won 14 grand slams and while we may be getting a little ahead of ourselves, this year’s finals seems to be headed towards an epic clash of two champions.
While we pray to the tennis gods that our Fedal dreams will come to fruition, it’s worth mentioning that another legend has made a remarkable comeback. Venus Williams (at age 36) has made it to her first grand slam finals since 2009 and first Australian Open final since 2003, proving that age is indeed just a number.