There is a moment immediately after Roger Federer’s final forehand has been confirmed as a winner: Federer beams and raises his arms and leaps in celebration, and then the magnitude of his triumph seems to bear down upon him and his cry of victory becomes a scream as he doubles over, gripped by a joy so intense it looks almost painful. Against all the odds, all expectation, against the man seemingly destined to be his master both on court and perhaps in the history books, Federer had captured his record-extending 18th grand slam title, five years after his last. It’s an achievement that transcends tennis and must be considered among the greatest in sport; with due deference to Ali, Bradman, Nicklaus and Maradona, here’s why Federer’s 2017 Australian Open might just be the best of the lot.
Roger Federer's Australian Open victory is the greatest achievement in sport
On Sunday, 29 January, Roger Federer beat his great rival Rafael Nadal to win the Australian Open. The victory was Federer's 18th grand slam title and has a case for being regarded as the greatest ever sporting achievement

Happy 18th...
Roger Federer has won the Australian Open and his 18th major title. Click through the gallery to revisit each one...
(Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)

Wimbledon 2003
Defeats Mark Philippoussis 7–6(7–5), 6–2, 7–6(7–3)
Although Federer announced his arrival as a contender by shocking Pete Sampras in 2001, it took another two years for the prodigy to claim his first major on the grass of SW19.
(Photo by Jeff Overs/BBC News & Current Affairs via Getty Images)

Australian Open 2004
7–6(7–3), 6–4, 6–2
13 years before his most recent Australian title, Federer claims his first, swapping aside Marat Safin in the final. The victory lifted Federer to number one in the world, a ranking he wouldn't relinquish for four and a half years.
(Photo by Sean Garnsworthy/Getty Images)

Wimbledon 2004
Defeats Andy Roddick 4–6, 7–5, 7–6(7–3), 6–4
Despite losing the first set, Federer rallies to beat Andy Roddick in four and claim Wimbledon number two.
(Photo by Leo Mason/Popperfoto/Getty Images)

US Open 2004
Defeats Lleyton Hewitt 6–0, 7–6(7–3), 6–0
Asserts his status as the best player in the world by claiming his third major of the year and his first US Open.
(Photo by Tommy Hindley/Professional Sport/Popperfoto/Getty Images)

Wimbledon 2005
Defeats Andy Roddick 6–2, 7–6(7–2), 6–4
Another Wimbledon and another victory against the luckless Roddick, this time in straight sets.
(Photo by Leo Mason/Corbis via Getty Images)

US Open 2005
Defeats Andre Agassi 6–3, 2–6, 7–6(7–1), 6–1
Shows no mercy in thwarting the 35-year-old Agassi's fairytale run to the US Open final, dispatching the veteran in four sets.
(Photo by Jason Nevader/Getty Images)

Australian Open 2006
Defeats Marcos Baghdatis 5–7, 7–5, 6–0, 6–2
Recovers from his surprise semifinal defeat to Safin the previous year by reclaiming the Australian crown.
(Photo by Fairfax Media/Fairfax Media via Getty Images)

Wimbledon 2006
Defeats Rafael Nadal 6–0, 7–6(7–5), 6–7(2–7), 6–3
Beats a certain Rafael Nadal for the first time in a slam final, avenging his French Open loss to the Spaniard the previous month.
(Photo by Phil Cole/Getty Images)

US Open 2006
Defeats Andy Roddick 6–2, 4–6, 7–5, 6–1
Different slam, same result as Federer beats Roddick in New York.
(Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)

Australian Open 2007
Defeats Fernando González 7–6(7–2), 6–4, 6–4
Federer's final truly dominant year at the top opens with a straight sets demolition of Chilean Fernando González. Notably, this is the last time Federer will be the younger player in a grand slam final.
(Photo by Fairfax Media/Fairfax Media via Getty Images)

Wimbledon 2007
Defeats Rafael Nadal 7–6(9–7), 4–6, 7–6(7–3), 2–6, 6–2
History repeats itself with Federer losing to Nadal in Paris only to beat his rival in London. But this five-set win shows the margin is narrowing...
(Photo by Professional Sport/Popperfoto/Getty Images)

US Open 2007
Defeats Novak Djokovic 7–6(7–4), 7–6(7–2), 6–4
Federer's only victory over Djokovic in a major final (until recent years the pair tended to meet in the semis) came with this straight sets win for grand slam number 12.
(Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)

US Open 2008
Defeats Andy Murray 6–2, 7–5, 6–2
After a fallow year, including the epic Wimbledon 2008 defeat to Nadal, Federer spoils Andy Murray's maiden major final with a straightforward victory.
(Photo by Chris McGrath/Getty Images)

French Open 2009
Defeats Robin Söderling 6–1, 7–6(7–1), 6–4
That long-awaited French Open finally arrives after Söderling shocks Nadal in the quarterfinals, and Federer takes full advantage.
LIONEL BONAVENTURE/AFP/Getty Images

Wimbledon 2009
Defeats Andy Roddick 5–7, 7–6(8–6), 7–6(7–5), 3–6, 16–14
Federer celebrates his only French Open title by winning back Wimbledon with his fourth and last victory over Roddick in a major final. It takes him one clear of Sampras with 15 slams.
(Photo by Professional Sport/Popperfoto/Getty Images)

Australian Open 2010
Defeats Andy Murray 6–3, 6–4, 7–6(13–11)
Federer quickly finds another Andy to torment, defeating Murray in his second major final.
(Photo by Professional Sport/Popperfoto/Getty Images)

Wimbledon 2012
Defeated Murray 4–6, 7–5, 6–3, 6–4
Federer beats Murray for the third time in a slam final to win his first major for nearly two years, and his last for another five.
(Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)

Australian Open 2017
Defeats Rafael Nadal 6–4, 3–6, 6–1, 3–6, 6–3
The most remarkable win of all. A break down against Nadal in the fifth set, Federer rails to win his 18th slam at the age of 35.
(Photo by Scott Barbour/Getty Images)

...and counting?
With his legacy as the greatest of all time finally secured, how much longer will Federer continue – and can he make it number 19 in the coming year?
(Photo by Quinn Rooney/Getty Images)
His age
At 35, Federer is the oldest winner of a men’s grand slam title since 37-year-old Ken Rosewall beat 36-year-old Malcolm Anderson to claim the Australian Open in 1972. But Federer is playing in a far tougher era, one widely considered to be the greatest of all time. His three greatest rivals – Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray and of course Rafael Nadal – belong to a different generation: only Feliciano Lopez remains active from Federer’s first Australian Open title in 2004. Rather than slip into retirement like his contemporaries, Federer refined his game, streamlined his schedule and continues to compete at the pinnacle. Absurdly, he’s reached the semifinals or better in the last five Grand Slam tournaments in which he’s entered.
His injury
A reminder: the Australian Open was Federer’s second tournament after a six-month absence from a knee injury. The challenge was not winning the title but reaching the second week. Federer admitted he was unaware his friend and compatriot Stan Wawrinka shared his half of the draw as he hadn’t bothered to look beyond the quarterfinals. Even for a player in their prime, such a victorious comeback would seem an impossible task: at 35 it is simply unheard of.
His opponent
If Federer had beaten, say, Grigor Dimitrov in the final then his tournament would still have been hailed as a tennis miracle. But he beat Nadal, his great rival and closest contender for the mantle of greatest of all time. Winner of 14 grand slams, Nadal is second only to Federer in the record books. Going into the match the Spaniard held a 23-11 winning record over the Swiss, including 9-2 in grand slams. Elderly champions tend to prevail against limited opposition: George Foreman knocking out Michael Moorer is a typical example. Elderly champions do not beat their supposedly-unbeatable nemesis who are five years their junior – at least not until last Sunday.
The rivalry
This victory does far more than bring Federer slam number 18; it reframes his entire rivalry with Nadal, pushes his slam record further out of reach, and solidifies his legacy as the greatest player to ever pick up a racket. The main argument against this legacy was simple: how could Federer be the best ever when Nadal beat him time and time again? Had Nadal won on Sunday, he would have further reinforced this argument and gained within two slams of Federer, with the French Open next to come. Nadal will always hold a winning record over Federer, but Federer won what is likely to be the last major final the pair ever play against each another, one described by Andy Roddick as possibly the most important match in grand slam history. It’s difficult to overstate the significance of that.
The final itself...
The final was a thriller, one that didn’t reach the technical heights of 2008 Wimbledon, but arguably even surpassed the greatest tennis match of all in terms of tension and drama. It’s tempting to describe the fifth set as inevitable – Federer vs Nadal, what do you expect? – but don’t fall into that trap. In their two most recent slam meetings, both at the Australian Open, Nadal had triumphed in four and three. Federer hadn’t beaten Nadal over five sets since 2007: his only chance was assumed to be a rapid victory inside the distance. When Nadal took the fourth, Federer fans feared the worst; when he broke Federer early in the fifth, the game was surely up. We’d seen this film many times before, we all knew how it ended. Instead, Federer tore up the script, pressuring the Nadal serve before reeling off five straight games to snatch away the title. Even the last service game proved a miniature epic, Federer going 15-40 down but refusing to yield to the seemingly inevitable. Even now his victory feels unreal: Federer beat Nadal in a grand slam final. Over five sets. After going a break down in the fifth. That was the opposite of inevitable; that was meant to be impossible.
...And Federer’s route to get there
As well as potentially ending his career, Federer’s enforced injury layoff meant he was seeded 17 for the Australian Open and had to play three Top-10 seeds simply to reach the final. Had any one of Tomas Berdych (10th seed), Ken Nishikori (5) or Stan Wawrinka (4) beaten Federer it would not have registered as a surprise; indeed Nishikori (a decade younger than Federer) and Wawrinka (winner of three grand slams) were both tipped to take out the Swiss veteran. Instead, Federer demolished Berdych, and beat Nishikori and Wawrinka in five sets. His only piece of fortune was the shock defeat of World Number 1, Andy Murray, a prospective quarterfinal opponent: Federer repaid Mischa Zverev, Murray’s conqueror, by thrashing the German in straight sets.
The long wait
Since winning Wimbledon in 2012, Federer had contested three grand slam finals and lost all three to Novak Djokovic. Wimbledon 2014 and 2015, the US Open 2015 offered both hope and despair: even though Federer could still compete at the top, he couldn't get past his younger rival. Even when Djokovic was removed from his path, such as the US Open 2014 and Wimbledon last year, Federer suffered defeat in the semifinals. The final years of his career seemed doomed to be spent in quixotic pursuit of that unreachable 18th slam. To bounce back from so many near misses, five years after his most recent triumph, displays astonishing mental fortitude.
His greatness
Here’s a question: does Roger Federer’s unquestionable greatness diminish or burnish his latest title? It’s certainly not an underdog story in the vein of Buster Douglas beating Mike Tyson or Leicester City winning the Premier League. But then Douglas lost the belt in his first defence and Leicester are currently battling relegation. Surely sport’s greatest achievements belong to sport’s greatest champions, the ones who take their discipline to a place nobody thought possible. While glorious one-offs should be cherished, it is the era-defining geniuses who scale the highest peaks. On Sunday, Roger Federer might have gone higher than them all.
Read about another golden oldie in our exclusive George Foreman interview