Roger federer claimed the 18th Grand Slam title of his career and the first title at Melbourne Park since the 2010 season on Sunday. He defeated Rafael Nadal in a five-set classic, one in which the Swiss Maestro fought from a break down during the final set. The win truly is a late-career surprise for Federer, a player who had not won any Grand Slam since Wimbledon 2012. It shows that tennis tournaments and sports events do not always go according to the scripts as the 35-year old Federer shocked the world with his victory.
Grand Slam was full of surprises
In a lot of ways the 2017 Australian Open was about surprises. Novak Djokovic's shocking loss to Denis Istomin is a major take away from the tournament, with the current World No. 2 having won the Melbourne Park title so many times in the past. Andy Murray losing to Mischa Zverev was way out of the blue as well. Furthermore, who would have thought that Andreas Seppi would fight back from two sets down against Nick Kyrgios in the early rounds?
Back in the lead-up to the 2017 Australian Open the men's tournament lost one of the favorites to win the event outright. Juan Martin del Potro announced that he was injured in December and he missed the small warm-up events and the Aussie as a result.
However, he was paying attention to the final. On Sunday he offered the following tweeted message to both Federer and Nadal.
Thank you both, don't you ever quit tennis!! GRANDEEE ROGER 🙌 So inspiring!!
— Juan M. del Potro (@delpotrojuan) January 29, 2017
Milos Raonic recognized great Aussie final
Milos Raonic, unlike Delpo, did participate in the 2017 Australian Open.
The Canadian had a good showing, making it all the way to the quarterfinal round before losing to Nadal. However, Raonic did not enjoy that great of a start to the season compared to last year. In 2016 he won Brisbane en route to making the semifinals at the Aussie. This season, he only made Brisbane's quarters and he fell short of a semifinal repeat.
After Nadal's and Federer's epic match, he issued the following tweet:
What a great and amazing match to wake up for. Thank you Roger, thank you Rafa. @AustralianOpen
— Milos Raonic (@milosraonic) January 29, 2017
Tennis fans will certainly enter a sort of cool-down mode after such a great match and tournament. It will be hard for Davis Cup tennis to enthrall as much as the Australian Open did. Certainly the majors that are ahead this season have a ton to live up to after a completely satisfying start to the ATP season.
