Roger Federer was in tears as he won a thrilling, five-set Australian Open final against his great rival Rafael Nadal to clinch a record-extending 18th Grand Slam title on Sunday.
Federer won 6-4, 3-6, 6-1, 3-6, 6-3 in three hours 38 minutes on Rod Laver Arena to move four major titles ahead of Nadal and Pete Sampras on the all-time winners’ list.
The Swiss marvel also became the oldest man in the post-1968 Open era to win a major final since Australia’s Ken Rosewall at the 1972 Australian Open.
It was Federer’s fifth Australian title in his sixth final, and ended a long, seven-year wait to win again in Melbourne after his 2010 triumph over Andy Murray.
It was the 35th meeting between the two great rivals with Nadal now leading 23-12 and 6-3 in major finals, including his five-set win over Federer in the 2009 Australian final.
Here’s how Twitterati reacted to another all-time classic between two great champions.
What a match and the legend @rogerfederer wins.
Mazaa aa gaya.#AusOpen#FedererNadal pic.twitter.com/3mKHlF2GJq— Vijender Singh (@boxervijender) January 29, 2017
Congratulations to Federer on winning his 18th grand Slam. What a legend. Tough luck Nadal
🇦🇺 🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🇫🇷 🏆🇬🇧 🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🇺🇸 🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆#AusOpen pic.twitter.com/LQK3kjCRE1— Leo Messi (@messi10stats) January 29, 2017
And it indeed was a day to remember for tennis fans around the world!
Summed up perfectly by this tweet.
With AFP inputs