Roger Federer To Play Rafael Nadal In The 2017 Australian

Open Finals

The first week of the 2017 Australian Open was full of unexpected events. Some might even say it

was the most surprising beginning of a major tournament in recent years. The first upset occurred when Novak Djokovic, a six-time

Australian 

Open champion who is ranked number two in the world lost to Denis Istomin in the second round.

Then, Andy Murray lost to Mischa Zverev, causing even more surprise. Andy Murray is, after all,

ranked number one in the world.

The 2017 Australian Open is also bringing about the comeback of Roger Federer, who is playing an

awful lot like he used to during his peak. At the age of 35 and after a six-month break for injury,

Federer isn’t playing around. 

In the third round, he overwhelmed Tomas Berdych in straight sets. Two days later, Federer

had to work harder to beat fifth-seeded Kei Nishikori. That game was quite a sight with both

men going after returns, leaping into other strokes and frequently getting close to the

borders of the lines.

After recovering from a 5-1 deficit and pushing Nishikori into a tiebreaker, Federer played

stronger than Nishikori. To be specific, Federer’s serves were consistently more convincing than

those of Nishikori. In the first set, Nishikori took an injury timeout to address his ailing left hip. At this point Nishikori was trailing by 3-0. Federer

stayed on his feet during this time out. 

Nishikori is one of tennis’ top-notch returners, but Federer was able to defeat him. Federer won 80 percent of his first-serve points in the game,

finishing with 83 winners and 47 unforced errors.

This game was in many ways what secured Federer’s spot in the finals. Another factor was

Murray’s loss to Zverev. Federer had expected to play against Murray if he was able to get past

Nishikori. Instead, Federer played against Mischa Zverev. Zverev is typically thought of as a serve- and-volley player. He was expected to spend as

much time as possible at the net, and to keep the rallies short.

For a brief moment in the second set, Zverev showed promise but ultimately Federer

overwhelmed him for the majority of the game. This Australian Open performance is still a high

point for Zverev, as he played a brilliant game that allowed him to defeats the world’s number one player, Andy Murray. Federer will now be

facing Nadal in the finals. This is a final that many people have been hoping for.

The match between Nadal and Federer will represent the rebirth of a rivalry, after a six year period of the two not playing against each other.

In the past, the Nadal-Federer rivalry was largely responsible bringing about a Golden Age of men’s

tennis that lasted more than a decade. This Sunday, we’ll see who comes out on top in the 2017 Australian Open. The will be an exciting game to watch, and chances are a lot of people

will be on the edges of their seats.