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This Day In Sports…January 28, 2018:
Roger Federer continues an amazing late-career surge, extending his record by capturing his 20th Grand Slam title as he outlasts Marin Cilic in five sets in the Australian Open final. Federer, at the age of 36, won his third major tournament in his last five tries after going almost five years without one. It was Federer’s sixth Australian Open championship and his 30th all-time appearance in a Grand Slam final.
Federer, who reached the final without dropping a set, was the first men’s player to secure 20 major championships—and it would turn out to be his final major title. Federer is currently third on the all-time list behind Novak Djokovic (with 24) and Rafael Nadal (with 22). He announced his retirement in September of 2022 after a series of knee operations.
Federer at one time appeared in a record 10 straight Grand Slam tournament finals. Other records include five consecutive Wimbledon titles, matching the modern mark set from 1976-80 by Bjorn Borg. Federer also spent a record 237 straight weeks atop the world rankings. He won eight Wimbledon crowns, six Australian Opens and five U.S. Opens—but only one French Open. (Clay was obviously not Federer’s best surface, but he still got it done.)
During the “golden era,” Federer, Nadal and Djokovic were the big three in men’s tennis, and their rivalries involving Federer were compelling. He and Nadal faced off 40 times, with Nadal winning 24 of those matches. Federer played Djokovic 50 times, and the Serb had the edge with 27 victories. They were friendly rivalries, because how could they not be? Federer won the ATP Tour Sportsmanship Award a record 13 times. The final match of his career was in doubles—and his partner was Nadal.
(Tom Scott hosts the Scott Slant segment during the football season on KTVB’s Sunday Sports Extra. He also anchors four sports segments each weekday on 95.3 FM KTIK and one on News/Talk KBOI. His Scott Slant column runs every Wednesday.)
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