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Lot Essay
"I've been coming here for almost 20 years now. I've always enjoyed it and now my family does too. Thanks again for everything, to everybody. Tennis is a tough sport. There are no draws. If there were I would have been happy to accept one and share it with Rafa.” (Roger Federer, BBC Sport, 2017)
By Roger’s exceptionally high standards, the years 2012-2016 were disappointing in terms of Grand Slam victories. There were incredible high points, including Switzerland’s first Davis Cup victory in 2014, and his 1000th match win which came in Brisbane in 2015. However, major victories were proving harder to come by and although he reached both the Wimbledon and U.S. Open finals in 2015, he was beaten by Djokovic on each occasion. Roger would remain on 17 major victories until a remarkable renaissance at the beginning of 2017.
When the Australian Open came around in January, he was seeded an unusually low 17th for the tournament. After coming through the early rounds in straightforward fashion, Federer fans were on the edge of their seats as he dispatched compatriot Stan Wawrinka in a five set thriller, to set up a ninth Grand Slam final against Rafa Nadal. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the two friends and long term rivals produced an epic duel, with Roger twice going ahead only for Rafa to hit back. With the score locked at 2-2 in sets, Nadal broke to lead 3-1 before Roger rolled back the years, winning five games in a row to seal the title, his fifth Australian Open title and his 18th Grand Slam. At the age of 35, with one of his greatest victories, Roger had proved that he was back to his best.
By Roger’s exceptionally high standards, the years 2012-2016 were disappointing in terms of Grand Slam victories. There were incredible high points, including Switzerland’s first Davis Cup victory in 2014, and his 1000th match win which came in Brisbane in 2015. However, major victories were proving harder to come by and although he reached both the Wimbledon and U.S. Open finals in 2015, he was beaten by Djokovic on each occasion. Roger would remain on 17 major victories until a remarkable renaissance at the beginning of 2017.
When the Australian Open came around in January, he was seeded an unusually low 17th for the tournament. After coming through the early rounds in straightforward fashion, Federer fans were on the edge of their seats as he dispatched compatriot Stan Wawrinka in a five set thriller, to set up a ninth Grand Slam final against Rafa Nadal. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the two friends and long term rivals produced an epic duel, with Roger twice going ahead only for Rafa to hit back. With the score locked at 2-2 in sets, Nadal broke to lead 3-1 before Roger rolled back the years, winning five games in a row to seal the title, his fifth Australian Open title and his 18th Grand Slam. At the age of 35, with one of his greatest victories, Roger had proved that he was back to his best.