Australian Open 2017: Exciting and dramatic

(Baonghean.vn) - The presence of the Williams sisters in the women's singles final and the 17th seed Roger Federer and 9th seed Rafael Nadal facing each other in the men's final made the 2017 Australian Open more dramatic and attractive than ever.

Williams sisters women's final.At exactly 4pm on January 28, 2017 (the first day of the Lunar New Year), tennis fans will witness the Williams sisters meet for the 28th time in the Australian Open women's singles final this year. It is the women's singles final between the second seed Serena and the 13th seed Venus Williams and more importantly, they are sisters. With 43 Grand Slams in their tennis career (including doubles), the Williams sisters can be proud that they are the most successful sports family in tennis.

This is the ninth time the Williams sisters have met in a Grand Slam final.

It was also at Melbourne Park in 1998 that the two Williams sisters faced each other in the second round of the Australian Open, the younger sister Serena, then 16 years old, lost to her older sister, 1 year old, with a score of 3-0. In 1999, the younger sister shocked the tennis world when she won her first Grand Slam, the US Open, and the name Serena Williams has been mentioned in all the newspapers since then. The younger sister, who has won the Australian Open 6 times, Serena is looking to regain the world No. 1 position and set a record of 23 Grand Slam championships to surpass Steffi Graf's record. The 7th Australian Open championship in Melbourne will make her a legend of the tournament with the record number of championships (including both men's and women's events).

This will be the ninth time the Williams sisters have met in a Grand Slam final. It's hard to imagine that the pair, who have a combined age of 71, are in the final, especially since Venus is 36 this year and is still playing hard on the court, defeating top players one after another. Venus suffered from an autoimmune disease in mid-2011, forcing her to undergo treatment and follow a diet of only vegetables and fruits. As a result, she dropped to 103rd place in the WTA women's singles rankings and planned to retire. Venus's health even affected her sister. Serena also played well after her injury break in 2011, during which time she did not win a Grand Slam.

In 27 matches, Serena has 16 wins and 11 losses, interestingly, Venus is the one who has defeated her the most. It is no coincidence that Serena declared: "The player who has given me the most difficulty in my tennis career is Venus." Although she is no longer at her peak, Venus has been playing well since the beginning of the tournament. It took nearly 9 years, since her Wimbledon 2008 championship, for Venus to have the opportunity to lift the Grand Slam trophy.

Arch rivals Federer and Nadal.Comparing Federer and Nadal in tennis is as difficult as C. Ronaldo and Messi in football. But ATP President Chris Kermode affirmed when answering the New York Times "Federer and Nadal have become icons of world sports, not just in tennis." If based only on statistics, Federer appears to have an advantage over Nadal. The Swiss tennis player currently owns 17 prestigious Grand Slam titles and a series of other records. Among them is a record considered the most difficult to break in tennis history: a series of 23 consecutive times reaching the semi-finals of Grand Slam tournaments. "Express train" appeared in the final match of the first Grand Slam tournament of the year for the 6th time (4 championships) but it was the first time since 2010 and the 28th time in the Grand Slam tournaments in his career.

During his career, Nadal has won a total of 14 Grand Slam titles. Including 4 titles at the Australian Open (2009); 9 titles at Roland Garros (2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014), 2 Wimbledon championships (2008, 2010) and 1 crown at the US Open (2010, 2013).

If we count the previous encounters between the two players, Nadal is superior with 23 wins and only 11 losses. Will there be an 18th Grand Slam for Federer or a 15th title for Rafa?

An Thanh