Tennis: Federer, Williamses Set Up Finals For The Ages

Tennis: Federer, Williamses set up finals for the ages

MELBOURNE, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 26th Jan, 2017 ) : Roger Federer survived an all-Swiss thriller to push his incredible run all the way to the Australian Open final on Thursday, as Serena and Venus Williams clinched a dream women's decider.

Federer was taken to five sets by a belligerent Stan Wawrinka before he pounced for a 7-5, 6-3, 1-6, 4-6, 6-3 victory to reach his first Grand Slam final since the 2015 US Open. It makes Federer, 35, the oldest major finalist since a 39-year-old Ken Rosewall at the 1974 US Open, with his long-time rival Rafael Nadal or Grigor Dimitrov awaiting on Sunday.

Federer wasn't the only one to turn back the clock as Serena and Venus Williams, aged 35 and 36 respectively, set up their first major final together in eight years. Mirjana Lucic-Baroni and Coco Vandeweghe were the semi-final victims as the jubilant sisters went into their ninth Grand Slam title match.

The women's semi-finals had the highest average age in Open-era history, and the men's tournament is also a blast from yesteryear after the exits of Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic, the top two seeds.

Federer, back from a six-month injury break, took full advantage as he weathered a fightback from fourth-ranked Wawrinka, who destroyed a racquet and took a medical time-out along the way. "It feels amazing," Federer said.

"I never thought in my wildest dreams that I would be going to be coming this far here... it's beautiful, I'm so happy." Federer now has a golden opportunity to add to his record 17 major titles and potentially gain revenge against Nadal, who has won the last four of their eight Slam finals.