Federer Flying High

Roger Federer has reached a milestone no other man has achieved by winning his 20th major title at the Australian Open on Sunday.

At 36 years young, Roger Federer continues to be like a fine wine and get better with age. He became the only man in men's professional tennis history to win an unprecedented 20 major championships. His sixth Australian Open crown was met with a stern test from new World No. 3 Marin Cilic, as he needed a decisive fifth set to claim the trophy. Unlike last year's triumph at the Australian Open, Federer was the clear favorite in 2018 and played exactly like it. He did not drop a set in his first six contests en route to the final against Cilic, but was met with a stern test from his Croatian rival. In a tournament that saw many top players exit relatively early, Federer stayed the course and played at the high level he's capable of throughout a two-week grand slam. Cilic would not go away without a fight as Federer looked to be in complete control after a dominant first set. Federer admitted to getting nervous in the second set tiebreak and, in turn, the match became very competitive. Federer was up a break in the fourth set, leading two sets to one, and seemingly looked as if he was going to close it out. Cilic had other ideas as he caught fire with his big groundstrokes and wrestled his way to a fourth set victory to push it to the fifth. Like all great champions in their respective sports manage to do, Federer put his foot on the gas in crunch time and saved four break points in his opening service game of the fifth, and was then able to eventually run away with it in the end. Unlike last year's final against Rafael Nadal, Federer did not fall behind in the fifth set only to fight back. He managed to weather Cilic's storm and take control of matters shortly after. With his sixth Australian Open title and twentieth major, Federer is continuing to cement his legacy as the greatest men's professional tennis player and one of the greatest athletes of all-time. His level of play does not seem to be slowing down, and it doesn't appear that will be affected even by the host of young talent currently on the tour. If he manages to stay healthy and feel confident on the court, we should continue to see this level from Federer for at least a couple more years. But then again, there are so many factors that go into an individual sport that you never know when something can change. For now, it's a pleasure to watch greatness continue to unfold.