- Title: Roger Federer's win in Melbourne gives him 18th grand slam title
- Date: 29th January 2017
- Summary: LONDON, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM (FILE - JUNE 25, 2016) (REUTERS) ROGER FEDERER WALKING TO PRACTICE SESSION AT WIMBLEDON FEDERER PRACTISING AT WIMBLEDON
- Embargoed: 12th February 2017 12:24
- Keywords: Roger Federer
- Location: LONDON, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM / BASEL, GENEVA, VALBELLA AND LAUSANNE, SWITZERLAND / NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES / PARIS, FRANCE / MELBOURNE AND PERTH, AUSTRALIA / MADRID, SPAIN
- City: LONDON, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM / BASEL, GENEVA, VALBELLA AND LAUSANNE, SWITZERLAND / NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES / PARIS, FRANCE / MELBOURNE AND PERTH, AUSTRALIA / MADRID, SPAIN
- Country: Australia
- Topics: Sport,Tennis
- Reuters ID: LVA001614TVEN
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: EDITORS PLEASE NOTE: THIS EDIT CONTAINS MATERIAL WHICH WAS ORIGINALLY 4:3
Switzerland's Roger Federer won the Australian Open men's singles final on Sunday (January 29), beating Spain's Rafael Nadal.
Federer has come back from a six-month injury lay-off which saw him quit the circuit in the midst of the 2016 season.
The Australian Open final was the test of his recovery, yet it was Nadal who had been the more successful in their recent grand slam encounters.
Until Sunday, Nadal had won all three of their previous meetings at Melbourne Park, and Nadal had won all of their previous six encounters in grand slam events. The last time that Federer had beaten Nadal in a grand slam was in the 2007 Wimbledon final.
Sunday's win makes Federer the first player ever to win five titles at three different grand slams and, at 35, the oldest grand slam winner since Ken Rosewall won the 1972 Australian Open at the age of 37.
Federer's 18 grand slam titles are the Australian Open in 2004, 2006-07, 2010 and 2017; the French Open in 2009; Wimbledon, in 2003-2007, 2009 and 2012; the U.S. Open in 2004-2008.
The Swiss is the only man to win five consecutive titles at two different grand slams - Wimbledon and U.S. Open. He is also the first man to win the Wimbledon-U.S. Open double four years in a row.
His first grand slam win was in 2003 when he beat Australian Mark Phillipoussis to the Wimbledon title, making him the first Swiss to win a grand slam title.
The Swiss took the 2009 French Open title to complete his full set of four grand slam titles in a career, at that time the sixth man to accomplish the task. The six, Fred Perry, Don Budge, Rod Laver, Roy Emerson, Andre Agassi and Federer, were later joined by Nadal.
Federer has also been a successful doubles and Swiss team player, winning an Olympic men's doubles gold medal with Stan Wawrinka at the 2008 Beijing Games, and the Davis Cup in 2014. He won the silver medal in men's singles at the 2012 London Games, coming second to host favourite Andy Murray. - Copyright Holder: FILE REUTERS (CAN SELL)
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