Every January, Melbourne Park sets the tone for the tennis season with a spectacle. Players arrive refreshed, fueled by off-season dreams and the same shared goal: to start the year strong at the Australian Open. Yet this is where plans are put to the test, and pressure takes over. Over 121 years, the Australian Open has given us unforgettable battles, matches that have become folklore, and moments that have reshaped tennis forever.

Now, as we inch closer to the 113th edition of the Australian Open (which is also the 57th in the Open Era), it’s time to take a look at five of the greatest matches in Melbourne.

1. 2009 Final: Rafael Nadal vs. Roger Federer

If one match captured the emotional soul of tennis, it was the 2009 men’s final. Rafael Nadal walked onto the court having survived a grueling five-hour semifinal against Fernando Verdasco. Many expected him to be drained. Instead, he delivered a five-set masterpiece against Roger Federer, the king of Melbourne Park (he had then already won three AO titles).

Federer was then looking to equal Pete Sampras’ record of 14 Grand Slams, while Nadal was in search of his first title in Melbourne as the new world number one. The match lasted 4 hours and 23 minutes and was a dramatic battle between the two players, who had already been ruling the circuit for some time.

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The match featured incredibly high-quality tennis, with both players trading sets in a contest marked by long rallies and stunning shot-making, before Nadal seized the initiative in the final set to secure the first victory at the Rod Laver Arena. The match ended at 7-5, 3-6, 7-6(3), 3-6, 6-2.

While Nadal finally claimed victory, Federer stood at the podium with tears streaming down his face – an image that stunned the tennis world. What did Federer say after the match?

“[This was] one of the matches in my career where I feel like I could have or should have won, you know. But you can’t go through your whole life as a tennis player taking every victory, you know, that’s out there. You’ve got to live with those, you know. But they hurt even more, so like if you’re that close, you know, like at Wimbledon or like here at the Australian Open.”

Later on, Rafael Nadal also heaped praise on the Swiss, saying, “great champion,” and also labeled him as one of the best of history. It wasn’t just a final. It was a moment of truth, a passing of the torch, and arguably the most emotional night in Australian Open history.

2. 2012 Final: Novak Djokovic vs. Rafael Nadal

Three years later, Rafael Nadal found himself in another Melbourne epic – this time against Novak Djokovic. What unfolded was the longest match in Australian Open history (5 hours and 53 minutes), and it was also the longest major singles final of all time. In the tennis world, many consider that match as one of the greatest matches in the history of the sport. Defending champion Djokovic defeated Nadal by 5-7, 6-4, 6-2, 6(5)-7, 7-5.

Both these players pushed each other past every imaginable limit. Rallies stretched to absurd lengths, both men bent but refused to break, and by the end, they could barely stand during the trophy ceremony.

They laughed through exhaustion as the photographer asked them to pose – Novak Djokovic leaning on the net, Rafael Nadal resting his hands on his knees. Even Steve Flink’s book ‘The Greatest Tennis Matches of All Time” features this epic battle.

Shortly after winning the title, when Djokovic was asked if this triumph over Nadal was the best of his career, he gave a nod.

“Right now, yes. Wimbledon is right up there next to this one because it’s just the tournament that I always dreamed of winning. But this one, I think, comes out on top because just the fact that we played almost six hours is incredible. I think it’s probably the longest finals in the history of all Grand Slams, and just to hear that fact is making me cry, really.”

It was then his fifth Grand Slam title and also the third at the Australian Open. Djokovic said he was very proud to be a part of history.

3. 2017 Final: Roger Federer vs. Rafael Nadal

By 2017, many fans believed the Federer-Nadal rivalry had run out of juice. Both stars had endured injury-riddled seasons. The expectations were low. The magic, however, was sky-high.

From the first game, it felt like Fedal were running it back. Federer painted lines with impossible precision; Nadal answered with thunderous forehands. The Rod Laver Arena roared with every twist. After four sets of vintage drama, Federer found himself down a break in the fifth.

But he unleashed one of the bravest sets of his career, storming back to claim his long-awaited 18th Grand Slam.  Score? The match ended at 6-4, 3-6, 6-1, 3-6, 6-3 in favor of the Swiss.

With that win, he had then become the oldest singles major champion since Ken Rosewall at the 1972 Australian Open. Do you know it was Federer and Nadal’s ninth and last meeting in a major final?

Speaking about that victory during an interview with Swiss media in 2020, Roger Federer said, “I realized how much the 2017 final in Australia against Rafael Nadal impacted people. Because it was a victory and everyone was talking to me about it.”

4. 2017 Final: Serena Williams vs. Venus Williams

Serena and Venus – two sisters, two legends, two forces who had changed the sport forever- met under the bright lights of Melbourne for their ninth Grand Slam final against one another. Serena Williams was looking to win her 23rd major and overtake Steffi Graf. The rallies were sharp, the emotion thicker than air.

Serena eventually managed to seal the deal at 6-4, 6-4 and successfully secured her seventh Australian Open singles title. This was also her last major singles title and her last meeting with Venus Williams in a major final.

With this win, Serena Williams also regained the world number one singles ranking. Perhaps even more significantly, it only later emerged that Serena had in fact won the match while pregnant with her first child, Olympia.

After the match, Venus Williams congratulated Serena, saying, “I have been right there with you, some of them I lost right there against you. It’s been an awesome win. I’m enormously proud of you; you mean the world to me. I, God willing, would love to come back. Thank you for all the love.”

Later on, even Serena Williams paid a tribute to her elder sister:

“There’s no way I would be at 23 without her. There’s no way I’d be at one without her. She’s my inspiration. She’s the only reason I’m standing here today. She’s the only reason the Williams sisters exist. Thank you for inspiring me. Every time you won this week, I felt like I got a win too.”

5. 2014 Final: Stan Wawrinka vs. Rafael Nadal

Why is this match so special? Well, in an era dominated by the ‘Big 3’, this match proved to the tennis world that it’s not always about superstars. Facing Nadal in peak form was intimidating enough.

Then Nadal injured his back early in the match, complicating the rhythm and adding emotional weight. Yet Wawrinka showed maturity beyond his reputation – maintaining focus, controlling his aggression, and powering through the chaos.

The match ended at 6-3, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 in favor of the Swiss. It was Wawrinka’s first major title, making him the first man outside the ‘Big 4’ to win a major title since Juan Martín del Potro at the 2009 US Open. Rafael Nadal was then attempting to complete the double career Grand Slam. But Stan the Man had other ideas.

“I never expected to win a Grand Slam because, for me, I was not good enough to beat those guys,” he said after the match.

This particular tournament is an event where sweat becomes story, where exhaustion becomes emotion, and where the greatest matches carve themselves into tennis history. Who will write the next classic story?