Roger Federer always believed he had more Grand Slam titles left in him.
He just didn't think it would happen like this, playing in his first tournament following a six-month injury layoff. Or against his biggest rival in the game, Rafael Nadal. "I said that also before the finals: if I were to win against Rafa, it would be super special and very sweet because I haven't beaten him in a Grand Slam final for a long, long time now," Federer said after beating Nadal in the Australian Open final 6-4, 3-6, 6-1, 3-6, 6-3.
A decade, to be exact. Federer's last win over the Spaniard in a major final came at Wimbledon in 2007. Nadal had beaten him in four consecutive slam finals since then.
Both Federer and Nadal also didn't expect to be in this position at the Australian Open, coming off long layoffs last season to recover from injuries.
Federer has rarely missed significant stretches with injuries throughout his career. This is the man, after all, who played in a record 65 consecutive Grand Slams — a streak that was broken when he withdrew from last year's French Open with a back injury. In recent years, however, he's acknowledged making mistakes by playing through pain instead of taking time off to heal.
SERENA'S NEXT GOAlIJ: Serena Williams felt like it took a "really long time" to win her 23rd Grand Slam title and break her tie with Steffi Graf on the all-time major winner list, so she wants to enjoy the victory and not look ahead. How about winning No. 24 and pulling even with Margaret Court, who holds the record for most major titlesIJ She doesn't know, and doesn't want to talk about it yet. The elusive calendar year Grand SlamIJ "I don't think about that either," she said. "Just one at a time."
THE 30-FUN FACTOR: Serena proved it's possible to keep winning majors at 35 - or as she likes to call it, "30-fun." Indeed, the 30-somethings were having fun at the Australia this year. Venus Williams, 36, and Mirjana lucic-Baroni, 34, joined Serena in the semifinals, becoming the oldest three women to reach the final four in Melbourne in Open era. The old guard did well on the men's side, with 30-somethings Federer, Nadal and Wawrinka all making the semis, too.
DJOKOVIC'S SlIDE: Novak Djokovic hasn't been himself since capturing last year's French Open. Just what's bothering him, though, remains unclear. The six-time champion seemed to lack intensity in his defeat to Uzbek wild card Denis Istomin in the second round, his earliest loss at a Grand Slam since 2008. And he was tight-lipped afterward, too.