Linda Pearce is the Chief Tennis Writer and general sports reporter for The Age. She writes about a range of sports, including football, netball, and gymnastics. Linda has twice been named Australian tennis writer of the year.
In the same room where, 11 months earlier, his Davis Cup commitment was questioned by Bernard Tomic, Nick Kyrgios passed judgment on his erstwhile teammate before this week's first-round Davis Cup tie against the Czech Republic
Nick Kyrgios is positive about the improvement in his knee injury, and optimistic about the impact of the Davis Cup environment on a career that resumes this week after his Australian Open meltdown.
Roger Federer has ranked his 2017 Australian Open triumph and the 2009 French Open title that finally completed his grand slam set as two of his most significant and emotional career achievements.
He wasn't finished, after all. Roger Federer's grand slam-winning days were not done. More than four years after his most recent success, at Wimbledon, a secondary result of Federer's 18th major title – and possibly his greatest victory – is the improbability that his great nemesis Rafael Nadal can catch him now.
Rafael Nadal believes good things are still possible for him on hardcourts, having only narrowly failed to win his first title on the surface in three years in Sunday night's Australian Open final against Roger Federer.
Given that few saw it coming, the question now is which way the dream Australian Open men's final will go. The slick court surface combined with an extended recovery time from a less physical semi-final point to Roger Federer over Rafael Nadal, according to several former greats, while others have declared the contest too close to call.
Serena Williams insists she has given no thought to the calendar-year grand slam that would complete her fabulous CV, having just marked off another achievement that she believes adds to the discussion about who is the Greatest Of All Time.
Serena Williams has beaten sister Venus 6-4, 6-4 in the Australian Open final to become the most successful women's player in professional tennis history.
Neither Williams sister lost hope of playing the other in another grand slam final, and yet the fact that No.9 will come on Saturday night was described by Serena as "probably the moment of our careers so far - for me, I can definitely say for me". The unexpected element, of course, is not the presence of the 22-time major winner, but of Venus, who has resurrected an illness-affected career that for years had seemed to be in permanent decline.
But the Swiss superstar believes Melbourne Park's faster-paced court will be more hospitable if the two greatest players of the current era meet - as so many wish - in Sunday's Australian Open final.
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