2016 was a year to forget.
With everything that happened in 2016, there were not much of expectations on Roger heading into 2017.
In comes a new character in Rafa Nadal who will, by the way be most mentioned in the parts to come.
Both Roger and Rafa had injury plagued seasons in 2016.
Federer had slipped from World Number 3 to WN 17 and Nadal slipped from WN 2 to WN 9.
It is almost imperative to talk about Rafa Nadal because he is considered by many as the closest to Federer in the Greatest of all time ( GOAT ) Debate.
As Roger and Rafa slipped down the rankings they eventually had to encounter tougher draws at the start of the First Grand Slam Major of the year i.e the AUSTRALIAN OPEN.
AUSTRALIAN OPEN 2017
VENUE - MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA
The Draw
Roger fans knew that in order for Roger to win the title, he had to go through Novak Djokovic. The question was not whether, but it was when would Roger have to face the World Number 1 Novak Djokovic.
The Draw was concluded that and it was perfectly setup for Novak to clinch the title one more time.
He had easy opponents until the quarter finals and in the semis he was due to face Roger Federer.
In those days people were not worried much about Federer or Nadal winning their matches but were more interested in Djokovic losing his.
Such was the domination of the man.
Federer was playing a Grand Slam Major after nearly 9 months of Hiatus, Nadal too hadn't played any tennis in a while and Djokovic was the ultimate and outright favourite to win the AO for the record breaking 6th time.
The Start of Aus Open 2017
Well, before we go too ahead there was a shocker on Day 3 of the championship.
Can anyone guess what could that be ??
Well well... The story of the day was - Novak Djokovic was knocked out in five enthralling sets by an unseeded player in round 2 !!!
Now LET THAT SINK IN PEOPLE !!!!!
I myself was dumbstruck by the news !!!! With the favourite to win the title being blown away, now the race was wide open.
I Believed, Federer fans believed, the whole Tennis fraternity Believed that, maybe and just maybe we could all Witness Greatness Again !!!
With Novak being knocked out, all eyes were on Roger and Rafa.
They were on collision course in the Finale if and only if they managed to win their respective matchups.
Both Roger and Rafa made it to the semi finals relatively unfazed and without much of a trouble from the opponents.
Semi Final 1
Roger Federer Vs Stan Wawrinka
It was an all Swiss Matchup at the Rod Laver Arena. The atmosphere was tense because everyone one knew that they were on the cusp of witnessing a Roger Vs Rafa mega finale.
But to reach there, Federer had to face an in-form Stan Wawrinka.
The match went back and forth as expected.
Every point Roger won was received by huge applause and just by the reactions of the crowd it showed how badly they wanted to see Roger in the finals.
The connect that Roger has with his Fanbase is really admirable and it's just next level.
Well with 2 sets a piece, the match entered the final and deciding set.
The longer the match went it would favour Stan as he was young and Federer usually has a history of falling prey to lengthier matches.
With circumstances favouring Stan the Man, Federer needed something miraculous to change the tide of the match and Dare I Say he bought hit A game to the fore in those closing moments.
With Federer turning back the clock with his magical display in the fifth set, there was nothing Stan could do.
He bowed to the master and in walked Roger in the Australian Open Final.
The excitement was unpalpable !!!
With Federer securing a victory, a big question loomed throughout the Tennis world and that was - Can Rafa Nadal make it to the Finals too ....??!!?!!
Semi Finals 2
Rafa Nadal Vs Grigor Dimitrov
It was such one of a kind match where you could see that even Non Federer or a Non Nadal fan was cheering for Nadal to beat Dimitrov, because all they wanted to see was a Grand Finale between the 2 GOATS of this Generation !!
Personally I didn't want Rafa to make it to the finals. Its simple because I wanted the weaker opponent to be in the finals facing Roger.
Rafa Nadal was actually a different breed, a one-of-a-kind athlete. He was the fittest and surely the quickest man on court and he displayed his skills to perfection in the semifinals.
This semi final too went the distance, and the way Nadal played in that deciding set, was just great to witness.
The energy, speed, agility was just out of this world and after nearly five hours of unrelenting tennis it was Rafa Nadal who triumphed, and the dream of a Roger vs Rafa in the finale had just come true.
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2017: Roger Federer : A Comeback For the Ages
Non-FictionA narration that revolves around how did Federer manag to make a comeback of a lifetime in 2017. It also depicts why do many people around the world consider him to be the Greatest of All Time. Being a Federer fan since my childhood, it would be pe...
