Ladies and Gentlemen, the King has returned!

Roger Federer clinches his 18th Grand Slam title. He won over long-term rival Rafael Nadal in the ninth grand slam final the two tennis legends have contested. The match was billed as the biggest final ever played in the sport.

After a fittingly nail-biting 5 settler, its a 5th Australian Open title for Roger Federer

6-4 3-6 6-1 3-6 6-3.

Ladies and Gentlemen, the King has returned.#Federer clinches his 18th Grand Slam title def. Nadal 6-4 3-6 6-1 3-6 6-3. #AusOpen pic.twitter.com/KyJklc7vge

— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 29, 2017

Here are the highlights of the amazing match:

Maestro on the move…

Clean machine #Federer takes command of the 1st set 6-4 v #Nadal. #AusOpen #Fedal pic.twitter.com/svRO3CD7oY — #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 29, 2017

Cool as a cucumber…@rogerfederer #AusOpen pic.twitter.com/Ik4ZVUf785 — #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 29, 2017

Bull on the loose…

Those eye-watering groundstrokes come out to play as #Nadal charges through the 2nd set 6-3. #AusOpen #FedererNadal pic.twitter.com/xgDmZdHwKh — #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 29, 2017

Leander Paes tweeted out of awe for the players:

Such high intensity tennis, this is the stuff that Champions are made of.. every point matters #FedererNadal #AusOpen — Leander Paes (@Leander) January 29, 2017

#Federer takes the third set. #AusOpen #FedererNadal pic.twitter.com/eDCcWGSjon — #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 29, 2017

Would it even be a #FedererNadal clash if it didn’t go to 5? Things are about to go into overdrive as Rafa takes the 4th 6-3. #AusOpen pic.twitter.com/2rEqvuJf0j

— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 29, 2017

Ace Indian tennis player Sania Mirza and her Croatian partner Ivan Dodig defeated local favourites Samantha Stosur and Sam Groth to enter the Australian Open mixed doubles fil.

 
The second seeded Indo-Croatian pair outplayed the Australian duo 6-4, 2-6, 10-5.
 
They will now take on the winner of the second semi-final featuring Elina Svitolina-Chris Guccione and Abigail Spears-Juan Sebastian Cabal.

Federer will now compete for his fifth crown in his sixth Australian Open final.

Swiss tennis legend Roger Federer will attempt to win his record-stretching 18th Grand Slam championship after a battling performance in the Australian Open semi-finals against compatriot Stan Wawrink 7-5, 6-3, 1-6, 4-6, 6-3.

 
He will up against his old foe Rafael Nadal or Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov in the final.

Roger Federer celebrates after defeating compatriot Stan Wawrinka

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Spanish superstar Rafael Nadal survived a marathon third-round battle against Alexander Zverev at the Australian Open tennis tournament, prevailing with a 4-6, 6-3, 6-7(5), 6-3, 6-2 win.

“It’s obviously an important result for me,” Nadal was quoted as saying by atpworldtour.com after his win in Rod Laver Arena.

“So it’s important for me to win a match like this, having been down two sets to one. I’m very happy.”

A single break of serve was all that was needed in each of the first two sets. Neither player faced a break point in the third set, ultimately forcing a critical tie-break.

Nadal’s forehand error gave the German an opportunity in the third set tie-breaker, which he took full advantage of by hitting a backhand winner on set point to earn a commanding lead.

But the 14-time Grand Slam winner refused to go away. He raced out to a 3-0 lead in the fourth set and appeared to finally wear down Zverev with the long baseline rallies that were the highlights of the match.

The young German hit 12 winners to 16 unforced errors in the fourth set while Nadal held onto the lead to force a deciding set.

The final stages of the match ultimately came down to fitness, with Zverev appearing to cramp at 2-2 in the fifth set.

Sensing his opportunity, the ninth seed sprinted through the final four games of the match to prevail in four hours and five minutes.

“It was a tough match,” reflected Nadal. “He’s a player that has an amazing potential. He is able to produce great shots. He’s already one of the best players in the world. He can be even better. He can be fighting for the most important things. So I think he will do it.

“For the confidence, for lot of things, it is very important to win these kind of matches. I worked a lot during all of December to have the chances to compete well in these kind of moments. Even if I started the match with some nerves, I think I was able to came back well.

Nadal will next face sixth seed Gael Monfils, who recorded a 6-3, 7-6(1), 6-4 victory over Philipp Kohlschreiber in just under two hours.

“Mentally I have been very positive during the whole match. In terms of physical performance, I felt great, ready for every ball. In terms of level of tennis, I think I finished the match playing much better than how I started the match. That’s a very important thing,” Nadal concluded.

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IANS

Serbian tennis ace Novak Djokovic began his quest for a record seventh Australian Open title with an easy win against Spaniard Fernando Verdasco while Rafael Nadal began with a convincing victory over German Florian Mayer.

World No.2 Djokovic won 6-1, 7-6 (4), 6-2 in two hours and 20 minutes to advance to the second round.

Duan Yingying gets first ever Australian Open win

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Ninth-seeded Spaniard Nadal defeated his No.49 rival 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 in two hours and four minutes. Nadal, who won the Australian Open in 2009, erased any bad memories of his first round defeat last year against compatriot Fernando Verdasco.

Nadal will play the next round against Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis, who defeated Mikhail Youzhny 6-3, 3-0 after the Russian’s withdrawal due to respiratory problems.

Djokovic will play the second round against the winner of the match between Uzbekistan’s Denis Istomin and Croatian Ivan Dodig.

Spain’s David Ferrer beat Australian Omar Jasika in the first round.

Ferrer, 21st seed, defeated World No.290, 6-3, 6-0, 6-2 in 86 minutes.

The Spaniard will next face the winner between Russian Danill Medveded and America’s Ernesto Escobedo.

Ferrer, a semi-finalist in 2011 and 2013, is celebrating his 15th appearance at the Australian Open this year.

Earlier on Tuesday, Spanish tennis player Roberto Bautista defeated Guido Pella of Argentina.

The 13th-seeded Spanish player won 6-3, 6-1, 6-1 in 84 minutes.

The Spaniard has reached the second round of this tournament twice and recently won the fifth title of his career in Chennai.

Bautista will now play in the second round against Japanese player Yoshihito Nishioka, who defeated Australian Alex Bolt 6-4, 1-6, 6-2, 6-4.

IANS

Watch Rafael Nadal and his Davis Cup team mates play a game of fun Tennis Football during the opening of La Liga office in India. Here also Nadal’s team emerged winners. Nadal took on ex-Real Madrid striker Fernando Morientes in his play off. The entire Davis Cup team, David Ferrer, Feliciano Lopez and Marc Lopez an  coach Conchita Martinez took part in the fun game.

Rafael Nadal playing Tennis Football as La Liga opens its India office

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