Roger Federer reflects on iconic Rafael Nadal battle as 'most special' Australian Open memory, talks Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz

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Roger Federer, the 20-time Grand Slam champion and six-time Australian Open winner, has been back in Melbourne to headline an exciting week of build-up ahead of the season-opening Grand Slam down under. Federer reflected on his "most special" memory at Melbourne Park, his iconic battle with Rafael Nadal in the 2017 final, while also assessing the men's top two, Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz.

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Roger Federer said his remarkable five-set victory over Rafael Nadal in the 2017 Australian Open final remains his "most special" memory at Melbourne Park.

Federer, a six-time champion down under, returned to Australia this week to headline a busy week of build-up ahead of the season-opening Grand Slam beginning on Sunday.

Among the multitude of achievements the Swiss 20-time major winner enjoyed in Melbourne, when asked about his favourite memory at the tournament, he picked out his triumph over Nadal in the final nine years ago.

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"It has to be '17, just because of the way it ended in the finals against Rafa," said Federer.

Federer - then aged 35 - had just returned from a six-month lay-off with a knee injury, one which caused him to miss the 2016 US Open - and despite being faced with a tough draw and seeded at No. 17, he battled through, shrugging off the likes of No. 5 seed Kei Nishikori and No. 4 seed and compatriot Stan Wawrinka en route to meeting Nadal in the final.

The showdown on Rod Laver Arena - which came just months after Federer had helped open Nadal's academy - saw Federer cap his fairytale fortnight with a 6-4 3-6 6-1 3-6 6-3 victory. It was a run which Federer, at the time, could only compare to his comparably stunning French Open triumph in 2009.

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Federer said: "It was surreal, I came here with no expectations. I was going to be happy with the quarters, I had a tough draw, knew I had to go through some big guys to even get close to winning.

"The way the finals played out, makes it one of the most special ones I ever had in my career. What a match, what a celebration and what a moment."

As part of Federer's pre-tournament commitments, he will face former rivals Andre Agassi, Patrick Rafter and Lleyton Hewitt on court for the 'Battle of the World No. 1s' exhibition - live on TNT Sports and discovery+ on Saturday.

On Friday, Federer triumphed 7-2 over current world No. 13 Casper Ruud in an exhibition tie-break - one which saw the retired Swiss star crunch a trademark one-handed backhand winner down the line, adding further thrills to what has been a successful attempt by Tennis Australia to draw their Grand Slam out into a third week.

Federer, speaking to the media, was also drawn on how he might have fared among the current crop of men's players, particularly in the case of defending Australian Open champion Jannik Sinner.

The 44-year-old said it had been hard to comprehend exactly how to play against Sinner until Grigor Dimitrov took two sets without reply against the Italian before retiring through injury in last year's Wimbledon round-of-16.

"At Wimbledon, when Grigor was playing against Jannik, and I was sitting there, that made it easy to think how it could’ve been [playing against Sinner], because Grigor plays very similar to how I played," said Federer.

"That was one of the first times I thought how would it have been to play Jannik in a match situation.

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"When I saw Jannik play against Novak [Djokovic] in Shanghai, I didn’t feel that way. I was just watching great tennis, because they both play very different to how I play.

"Carlos [Alcaraz], when I see him, I see more similarities in terms of what we’d do, when we hit a drop shot, when we’d come to the net, how offensive, how passive we decide to play.

"I put myself more into Carlos’s mindset and skin when I watch him. Other than that, I’m very happy and I love watching tennis just as a fan."

Sinner is aiming for a third consecutive Australian Open title, while world No. 1 Alcaraz is hoping to win the Melbourne title for the first time in his career, a feat which would complete his career Grand Slam.

All the action from the Australian Open will be available live and on-demand via TNT Sports and its streaming platform, discovery+.

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