2017 Australian Open – Men's singles final
The 2017 Australian Open Men's Singles final was the championship tennis match of the Men's Singles tournament at the 2017 Australian Open. Highly regarded as one of the greatest matches in tennis history, it was contested between Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, ranked 17th and 9th in the world respectively. It was their record ninth meeting in a Grand Slam final in their rivalry, and their first meeting in a Grand Slam final since the 2011 French Open. In a rematch of the 2009 Australian Open final, which Nadal won in five sets, Federer won the duel in five sets, beating Nadal for the first time in a Grand Slam since the 2007 Wimbledon final. He also trailed Nadal 3–1 in the final set but won five games in a row to win the title. This ended a six-match losing streak against Nadal in Grand Slam events. Having lost their previous three encounters, this was the first time Federer defeated Nadal at the Australian Open and also marked Federer's first Grand Slam victory over Nadal outside the grass courts of Wimbledon. Federer extended his record of Grand Slam singles titles to 18. Due to their storied rivalry, the advancing age of both players in their respective careers, critical speculation of the match being their last Grand Slam finals contest against one another, the potential tennis history made from either victory and subsequent implications for their respective legacies, and the match's relevance towards popular and critical discussions on either Federer or Nadal being 'the greatest tennis player of all time', the match, referred by the moniker 'Fedal XXXV', was a 'dream final'. Arguably one of the most highly anticipated matches in the history of tennis, the quality of the performances by both players during the match has resulted in it dubbed one of the most important sporting events ever played, as well as one of the greatest tennis matches of all time. Background Federer and Nadal's participation in this tournament marked their major returns from their 2016 seasons that saw sidelining injuries. Federer, in particular, had not played a tournament since the 2016 Wimbledon semi-final, having aggravated his surgically repaired knee to the extent that he called off the rest of his 2016 season, including missing out the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio that he was keen to compete in for the singles gold medal that eluded him and also playing the highly anticipated mixed doubles pairing with compatriot and fellow tennis great, Martina Hingis. Unable to defend his Cincinnati Open and Swiss Basel Indoors titles and his runner up position at the 2015 Wimbledon and US Open, Federer fell from No. 3 to No. 16 at the end of the 2016, dropping out of the top 5 for the first time since March 2014 and dropping out of the top 10 rankings for the first time since 2002. Contrasting Federer's consistent semi-finals and finals appearances in Grand Slams from 2015 Wimbledon onwards, Nadal failed to make a Grand Slam quarter-final