Nick Bidic shares a presentation discussing Roger Federer playing Rafael Nadal in the 2017 Australian Open Finals.

1. Roger Federer To Play Rafael
Nadal In The 2017 Australian
Open Finals

2. The first week of the 2017 Australian Open was
full of unexpected events. Some might even say it
was the most surprising beginning of a major
tournament in recent years. The first upset
occurred when Novak Djokovic, a six-time
Australian

3. Open champion who is ranked number two in the
world lost to Denis Istomin in the second round.
Then, Andy Murray lost to Mischa Zverev, causing
even more surprise. Andy Murray is, after all,
ranked number one in the world.

4. The 2017 Australian Open is also bringing about
the comeback of Roger Federer, who is playing an
awful lot like he used to during his peak. At the
age of 35 and after a six-month break for injury,
Federer isn’t playing around.

5. In the third round, he overwhelmed Tomas
Berdych in straight sets. Two days later, Federer
had to work harder to beat fifth-seeded Kei
Nishikori. That game was quite a sight with both
men going after returns, leaping into other
strokes and frequently getting close to the
borders of the lines.

6. After recovering from a 5-1 deficit and pushing
Nishikori into a tiebreaker, Federer played
stronger than Nishikori. To be specific, Federer’s
serves were consistently more convincing than
those of Nishikori. In the first set, Nishikori took
an injury timeout to address his ailing left hip. At
this point Nishikori was trailing by 3-0. Federer
stayed on his feet during this time out.

7. Nishikori is one of tennis’ top-notch returners,
but Federer was able to defeat him. Federer won
80 percent of his first-serve points in the game,
finishing with 83 winners and 47 unforced
errors.

8. This game was in many ways what secured
Federer’s spot in the finals. Another factor was
Murray’s loss to Zverev. Federer had expected to
play against Murray if he was able to get past
Nishikori. Instead, Federer played against Mischa
Zverev. Zverev is typically thought of as a serve-
and-volley player. He was expected to spend as
much time as possible at the net, and to keep the
rallies short.

9. For a brief moment in the second set, Zverev
showed promise but ultimately Federer
overwhelmed him for the majority of the game.
This Australian Open performance is still a high
point for Zverev, as he played a brilliant game
that allowed him to defeats the world’s number
one player, Andy Murray. Federer will now be
facing Nadal in the finals. This is a final that many
people have been hoping for.

10. The match between Nadal and Federer will
represent the rebirth of a rivalry, after a six year
period of the two not playing against each other.
In the past, the Nadal-Federer rivalry was largely
responsible bringing about a Golden Age of men’s
tennis that lasted more than a decade. This
Sunday, we’ll see who comes out on top in the
2017 Australian Open. The will be an exciting
game to watch, and chances are a lot of people
will be on the edges of their seats.