Roger Federer (Photo : Getty Images)
Roger Federer believes the Australian Open 2017 will be an epic event due to the converging storylines of the "Big Four."
Federer's return to the tennis scene is one of the moments fans are anticipating next year. The Swiss Maestro has been out of the Tour since re-injuring his surgically-repaired knee at Wimbledon, but is now only days away from returning to tennis action in next year's Australian Open.
However, for Federer, his comeback would not be the only intriguing story for the first Grand Slam event of the year, insisting that the storylines of Andy Murray, Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal are also something to watch at the event.
"I think it actually creates a great story for next year," Federer told The New York Times.
"Andy's a great story. Novak's a great story. Rafa, obviously, is always going to be a good story. Me coming back is hopefully going to be a nice story to follow, too. I think the beginning of the year, especially the Australian summer, is going to be epic.
Aside from Federer's form back in competition, the Djokovic-Murray rivalry is another thing to watch. Djokovic had a remarkable run in early 2016, only to be halted what the Serb claims as personal issues and Murray's consistency in playing at a high level.
All of Djokovic and Murray's duels this year were final round matchups, with the Serb up by 3-2 in their 2016 head-to-head record. But it was Murray who got the better of Djokovic late this year, defeating the latter at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals and dethroning the Serb from the world rankings summit.
"I was very surprised just because when a guy starts a season the way Novak does, achieves his dream by winning the French and his fourth Slam in a row, of course there's no way in the world that anybody, even the players, start thinking another guy could actually finish No. 1," Federer said.
Meanwhile, fans are also anticipating Nadal's return to the Tour. Nadal, who decided to skip the remainder of the season in October due to a recurring left wrist injury, was able to show glimpse of his old form before getting sidelined by the injury at the French Open.
Despite Nadal's optimistic approach to coming back stronger from injuries and setbacks, Nadal offered uncertainty over being in his best form once he competes in the 2017 season. But the 14-time Grand Slam winner remains clear about his goals of enjoying the game and competing at the highest level possible.
"I don't know," Nadal said when asked if fans would see his best at the Tour next year. "Being happy and playing well to win. These ones are my two goals, nothing more. And I am working to do it."
