It was as nailed-on that there would be a Swiss player in the men’s final of the 2017 Australian Open on Sunday as it was that an American would win the women’s title on Saturday. The odds that their combined ages would be at least 70 were a little tougher to see at the start of the fortnight but it crystallized into stunning reality here on the 11th day of a tournament that has had more twists than the Melbourne Grand Prix.
A few hours after Serena Williams, 35, joined her 36-year-old sister, Venus, in the women’s final by trouncing the 34-year-old Mirjana Lucic-Baroni, Federer, 35, somehow conjured some more retro magic to beat Stan Wawrinka, a mere 31, for the 19th time in 22 matches. His bete noire, Rafael Nadal, plays Grigor Dimitrov, his young doppelganger, in the second semi-final on Friday.
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