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

16-Time World Champ Pankaj Advani Asks What More He Needs To Do

By Yassh Grover

When he lifted the trophy at the clay courts of Roland Garros, Novak Djokovic became the eighth player in history to complete a Career Grand Slam. And the third man to hold all major titles at once. Now popularly called as a Nole Slam.

So it’s no surprise the Serbian starts the Wimbledon Championship as a clear favourite to lift his fourth title. The World number one had got the better of Swiss king Roger Federer in last year’s final; a four-set encounter at the All England Tennis Club to defend his title.

Under the guidance of tennis great and coach Boris Becker, himself a three-time Wimbledon winner, Djokovic takes the grass courts on his super hot streak. But the defending champion will be under pressure; to defend his title and bag his fifth straight grand slam win. Since he entered Wimbledon last year, Novak is yet to lose a match in majors.

Among his challengers, Rafael Nadal is giving the grass court event a miss. Third seed Roger Federer is very much in the mix; and if he has any hope of adding to his tally of grand slam titles then this is the place to do it. Djokovic’s path through the draw looks easy enough before he runs into big serving Milos Raonic in the quarterfinals. Then Federer could be waiting for him in the last four stage.

But the toughest challenge for the Serbian could come from the local hero and 2013 champion Andy Murray. The second seed, despite a semi-final ouster last year, has been in devastating form in the majors. Murray comes into this year’s Wimbledon with two runner-up finishes in grand slams under his belt. The British is looking at a potential match against Stan Wawrinka in the semifinals on his side of the draw. The other Swiss great of tennis has added former champion Richard Krajicek to his coaching staff.

Garbine Muruguza on hot pursuit of Serena Williams

In the women’s section, top seed Serena Williams will have to shake off the humiliating French Open final loss to Garbine Muruguza. But the American will take heart from the fact that she had beaten Muruguza in the Wimbledon final last year to lift the crown. This year the defending champion is looking for her seventh Wimbledon title, while the French Open champion Muguruza will try to stop her her from doing that.

Petra Kvitova has had an inconsistent year but the two-time winner is at her very best on grass and could put in an impressive performance during the next fortnight.

In the top half of the draw, former finalist Agnieszka Radwanska is another player who is adept on grass-courts and could produce a deep run in the tournament. Similarly, Dominika Cibulkova has been in good form of late and the former Australian Open finalist could do some damage in the second week of the tournament.

The future of Indian tennis, Adil Kalyanpur shares his journey so far in an exclusive interview to Glint.tv. A Federer fan, the Bangalore lad training at Vishal Uppal’s tennis academy in Delhi also raves about his idol!