No matter how big the sportsman or what records he boasts of, age is one opponent that eventually prevails over their glorious career. It is a brutal enemy that sneaks up silently without making its presence felt and takes its toll slowly on the glorified men.

The decaying effect of age forces an athlete to take a second longer to react, a step more to cover the ground and a day longer to recover.

But, at 35 years old, Roger Federer seems to have made age his friend.

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The Swiss legend got the tennis fraternity and his fans nostalgic after decimating old great rival Rafael Nadal 6-4, 3-6, 6-1 3-6, 6-3 in the final to clinch the Australian Open – his 18th Grand Slam title.

Federer, who underwent a arthroscopic surgery and decided to shut his season down early at the end of July 2016, neutralised Nadal to become the second-oldest man in the Open era to win a Grand Slam title after Ken Rosewell.

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With this breath-taking win, Federer became the first man to claim five titles at three different Grand Slam events – five Australian Opens, five US Opens, seven Wimbledons.

A clash that was probably the best of their long-standing rivalry undoubtedly lived up to its billing with both the players going head-to-head till the fifth set where agonising drama got the Rod Laver Arena off their feet to celebrate the genius of two tennis veterans.

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Federer weathered two break points to serve it out, but his ethereal grace could not be denied. Coming as it does a full five years after his 17th crown, the sight of the Swiss maestro’s tearful celebration was as pleasingly familiar as it was utterly astonishing.

Nadal, who almost came close to winning his 15th Grand Slam title, was also on the way back from injuries that curtailed his 2016 season, but the Spaniard could not improve his winning record against Federer - the Swiss has now won 12 of their 35 matches and three of nine major finals.

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The return of one of the great tennis rivalries to the Grand Slam final stage led to huge anticipation for the final, and it lived up to the billing over three hours and 37 minutes.

A match of wild momentum swings ended with a purple patch from Federer that saw him win the last five games, and clinch the title thanks to confirmation from a Hawkeye challenge.

In future years he’ll surely look back on this ninth Grand Slam final meeting with his most fearsome opponent and wonder if it really happened.