All-time tennis greats shine Down Under

However, those who decided to bite the bullet and watch the tournament over the last two weeks were definitely rewarded, as this Australian Open turned out to be one of the most entertaining, historic and stunning tournaments in recent memory.

The storylines were unexpected but satisfying, as several of the sport’s most celebrated legends put doubts aside and continued to solidify their place atop the tennis pantheon.

Federer, Nadal, Serena and Venus. These are the names I grew up hearing. They were the best. They were unstoppable. They were hailed as the greatest talents the sport had ever seen. Year after year, Major after Major, they hoisted trophies, and they were by and large untouchable against anyone except each other.

The question was never whether or not they would reach the latter stages of a Major, but whether they would claim the top prize; It was always championship or bust.

For years, Nadal and Federer owned men’s tennis. Between 2005 and 2010, the two combined won at least three of the sport’s four Majors every single year. As time went on, though, the two both eventually ran into obstacles.

In the case of Nadal, it was nagging injuries, often to his knees, that kept him out of tournaments or resulted in his premature departures in the early stages of Majors.

Until 2015, the Spaniard had continued his absolute dominance at the French Open — winning nine of the last 10 tournaments at Roland-Garros. However, with the exception of the French Open, he had won only one other Major since 2010.

As for Federer, the 35-year-old Swiss entered 2017 having won only one Major since 2010 and having lost his last three matches in Major finals — each to Novak Djokovic.

Additionally, he missed two Majors at the Olympics in 2016 due to knee issues that required two surgeries, along with several other minor setbacks. 2016 was the first year he missed a Major since he entered professional tennis in 1999.

It appeared that, after an illustrious career, age had finally gotten the better of the most decorated Grand Slam champion in the history of men’s tennis.

With Federer and Nadal struggling, the mantle for tennis supremacy had been passed on to Djokovic and Andy Murray, with the likes of Stan Wawrinka, Milos Raonic and Kei Nishikori right on their heels.

Nadal and Federer both had a great run, but like all good things, their supremacy in men’s tennis came to an end, and their elite status was waning.

On the women’s side, Venus Williams was all but written off at this point. At 36 years old with no wins in Majors since 2008, the seven-time Major champion was given little consideration as the tournament’s 13th ranked player.

She had performed better in 2016 than in the previous several years, but few expected her to advance deep into a tournament in which she had not reached a final since 2003.

Her sister Serena, on the other hand, was faced with extremely high expectations after a disappointing 2016 campaign. Serena won only one Major in 2016 after winning three in 2015.

The 22-time Major champion was not performing at the caliber that people had grown accustomed to, and she lost the number one world ranking to Angelique Kerber following last year’s U.S. Open. She was expected to bounce back, but some critics had their doubts about her durability moving forward.

Overall, these four tennis greats entered the Australian Open with some of the strongest resumes in the sport’s history, but if you had said that they would all be finalists in the tournament, it would have been more wishful thinking than a realistic possibility.

What do the greats do, though? They defy logic, expectations and time. And in this case, the result was one of the most memorable Majors that tennis has seen in years.

Right off the bat, the tournament was hit with an unexpected upset, as Djokovic was eliminated in the second round.

The loss, which was “Djoker’s” earliest exit since Wimbledon in 2008, immediately opened up the field and was the first glimmer of hope for Federer and Nadal. In the fourth round, both Murray and Kerber were eliminated, and possibility of both Federer vs. Nadal and Serena vs. Venus arose. However, all four players still had a lot of work to do.

Yet, they all did what they had to do. Over the course of the tournament, Federer handled Tomáš Berdych in three sets and both Nishikori and Wawrinka in five sets.

Meanwhile Nadal overcame Gaël Monfils, Raonic and Grigor Dimitrov. The latter pushed Nadal to the limit in a grueling five-set marathon in the semifinal that lasted nearly five hours.

Serena’s path was relatively easy, and she never lost a set en route to the final. Venus faced her biggest challenge in fellow American Coco Vandeweghe in the semifinal, but she prevailed in the third set and cruised into the final without considerable difficulty.

Venus and Serena’s match on Saturday was fairly one-sided, with Serena getting the best of her older sister 6-4.

As the player with the most Major titles in the grand slam era and as the oldest player to ever win a Major, it is hard to argue that Serena Williams is not the greatest player in her sport’s history.

She and Venus play unlike any women the sport has ever seen, and they have dramatically elevated the reputation of women’s tennis as a whole.

While the two will eventually reach the point where they walk away from tennis, their legacies will endure for generations to come.

The women’s final had great storylines, but the match itself did not quite live up to the hype. The men’s final, on the other hand, lived up to and exceeded every possible expectation.

The match was back and forth from start to finish, culminating in a drama-filled fifth set that included numerous and unexpected momentum shifts. The quality of play was absolutely sensational, and neither player allowed fatigue to get the better of them.

The two had both battled for five sets in the semifinal, but Federer was fortunate enough to have an extra day to rest before the match.

After falling behind 3-1 in the fifth set, Federer, who had never previously defeated Nadal in Australia, appeared to be in danger of letting another match slip away. However, he was able to find another gear and win five consecutive games to finish off his Spanish foe.

None of these games came easy, but Federer had just enough energy to overcome his relentless rival. The will and determination of both players was extraordinary, and they added yet another all-time classic to the history books.

The big story of the Australian Open is Federer, though. Little was expected from him. He was playing in his first tournament of any kind since Wimbledon, and it had been seven years since he had last hoisted the Norman Brookes Challenge Cup in Melbourne.

Yet, in the latest installment of the greatest rivalry that tennis has ever seen, Federer somehow found a way. As an 18-time Major champion, he has cemented his legacy as the greatest player in the history of men’s tennis.

This Australian Open was great for tennis. The excitement of the fans was palpable, whether in their silent but evident anxiety during rallies or in their thunderous applauses between points.

Federer, Nadal and the Williams sisters elevate the sport’s popularity when they succeed, and as long as they play, the sport will continue to be loved by fans around the world.

But the future also seems bright with the likes of Dimitrov and Vandeweghe having noteworthy breakthroughs. Numerous other new talents also exceeded expectations throughout the tournament.

If this tournament tells us anything, though, it is to expect the unexpected. 2017 should be a great season for tennis, and fortunately, it is just getting started.