Nadal, Federer to face off in Australian Open finals

Longtime rivals Roger Federer, the No. 17 seed, and Rafael Nadal, the No. 9 seed, will face off Sunday in the Australian Open singles finals. Nadal made it to his first Grand Slam final since 2014 after a nearly five-hour-long semifinal match against Grigor Dimitrov that began in Melbourne on Friday evening and didn't wrap up until 12:44 a.m. local time Saturday.
Federer and Nadal haven't faced each other in a Grand Slam final since the 2011 French Open, where Nadal beat Federer in four sets. Though Nadal has beat Federer in 9 out of their 11 Grand Slam matchups, he has been sidelined in recent years because of injuries. Nadal will be fighting for his 15th major title, while Federer will be battling for his 18th.
But before Federer and Nadal face off, sisters Serena Williams, the No. 2 seed, and Venus Williams, the No. 13 seed, will take the court for the women's final Saturday. Venus' success in the semifinals Tuesday over Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova advanced her to a Grand Slam final for the first time in eight years:
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The Williams sisters are "the two active players with the most Grand Slam singles titles," The New York Times reported. Serena has won 22 titles, while Venus has won seven.
Between the men's and the women's finals, this will be "the first Grand Slam tournament in the Open era in which all four singles finalists are 30 or older," the Times noted. Nadal is 30, Federer is 35, Serena is 35, and Venus is 36.
The women's match starts Saturday at 7:30 p.m. local time, or 3:30 a.m. ET. The men's starts Sunday at 7:30 p.m. local time, or 3:30 a.m. ET.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Florida erases rainbow crosswalk at Pulse nightclub
Speed Read The colorful crosswalk was outside the former LGBTQ nightclub where 49 people were killed in a 2016 shooting
-
Trump says Smithsonian too focused on slavery's ills
Speed Read The president would prefer the museum to highlight 'success,' 'brightness' and 'the future'
-
Trump to host Kennedy Honors for Kiss, Stallone
Speed Read Actor Sylvester Stallone and the glam-rock band Kiss were among those named as this year's inductees
-
White House seeks to bend Smithsonian to Trump's view
Speed Read The Smithsonian Institution's 21 museums are under review to ensure their content aligns with the president's interpretation of American history
-
Charlamagne Tha God irks Trump with Epstein talk
Speed Read The radio host said the Jeffrey Epstein scandal could help 'traditional conservatives' take back the Republican Party
-
CBS cancels Colbert's 'Late Show'
Speed Read 'The Late Show with Stephen Colbert' is ending next year
-
Shakespeare not an absent spouse, study proposes
speed read A letter fragment suggests that the Shakespeares lived together all along, says scholar Matthew Steggle
-
New Mexico to investigate death of Gene Hackman, wife
speed read The Oscar-winning actor and his wife Betsy Arakawa were found dead in their home with no signs of foul play