5 of Roger Federer's best matches in 2017

1) 18th Grand Slam: Australian Open vs Nadal

The stage was set for the biggest showdown in the year's first Grand Slam. Understandably, it took everyone by surprise that two men who were coming back from respective injury lay-offs were the pair to get themselves into the final itself.

After almost a decade apart, they were meeting once again in a GS final. The tennis world were patiently waiting with bated breath and the match itself certainly did not disappoint - an epic five-set thriller.

The first four sets were see-saw battles were one and three were dominated by Federer, while two and four were taken comfortably by his Spanish competitor. Both were playing at a high level in the fifth and final set, though Federer managed to recover from a 3-1 deficit to level things by winning both of Nadal's service games.

Federer supporters might have been wondering whether this would be another case of mental block denying Roger success against Nadal, but not to worry as he managed to find another gear.

The mental scars that Federer suffered in previous years against Nadal were finally put to rest on this occasion, while Roger won all remaining encounters against the world number one in 2017 without dropping a set.

Federer holds the AO trophy aloft, his 18th Grand Slam title and fifth in Australia