Images from Day 4 of the Australian Open in Melbourne on Thursday.
While Federer and Nadal will look to reignite the flair and fight they showed to reach last year's final, 2018 could have a different script at play.
Not since Stan Wawrinka's 2016 US Open triumph has a Grand Slam been won by someone other than the 'Big Three', winners of the last 13 major titles.
Seven-time grand slam champion Venus Williams advanced to the third round at Melbourne Park on Wednesday with a 6-3, 6-2 win over Stefanie Voegele but conceded she was still troubled by an elbow injury that forced her to pull out of the women's doubles.
The 20-year-old, free of a shoulder injury that forced her out of qualifying for last week's Hobart tournament, won her first match at the Australian Open at her fourth attempt with a 6-4, 7-5 victory over Germany's Annika Beck.
For someone who was the only man to beat world number one Novak Djokovic in a grand slam in 2015, Stan Wawrinka was indifferent about the attention on the feat heading into this year's Australian Open. Djokovic was virtually untouchable last year as he compiled an 82-6 win-loss record and won three grand slam titles as well as six of the eight ATP 1000 top-tier tournaments he played. Wawrinka, however, surprised the tennis world when he produced a barrage of backhands on the clay at Roland Garros to beat the Serb in the Paris final and claim his second grand slam title.
Japan's Nishikori was the first man representing an Asian country to break through to a Grand Slam final at the 2014 tournament before Marin Cilic stopped him in the title match.
For the fifth straight year Melbourne brought agony for Nadal. Bikash Mohapatra summarises the Spaniard's no show Down Under.
Images from the Australian Open women's final on Saturday.
China's Li Na advanced to her second successive Australian Open final with a 6-2, 6-4 victory over Canadian teenager Eugenie Bouchard on Thursday.
Boris Becker found himself a central part of the unfolding drama and, when his charge stumbled, fair game for tennis writers picking over Novak Djokovic's shock five-set defeat in the quarter-finals.
Nadal will have the chance to claim the top spot back on Monday if he wins his third title in Acapulco
Boris Becker's first priority will be to help Novak Djokovic gain a 'mental edge' when the pressure rises at the grand slams, the Australian Open champion said in Melbourne on Thursday.
"Well, I don't know what his intentions are, how he feels, but he is definitely always one of the top favourites in every tournament that he plays," said Djokovic, who beat Slovenian qualifier Aljaz Bedene 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 to join the Spaniard in the second round on Tuesday.
India's Prajnesh Gunneswaran said he 'struggled a bit with the sun' and that it cost him a lot at the Australian Open, ending his maiden Grand Slam appearance in a first round exit.
IMAGES from the Australian Open matches played on Wednesday.
Dominika Cibulkova, the first Slovakian woman to reach a Grand Slam final, will take on China's Li Na in the Australian Open women's singles final at Melbourne Park, on Saturday.
Images from Friday's Australian Open men's singles second semi-final between Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer.
Silent assassin Agnieszka Radwanska ended Victoria Azarenka's bid for a hat-trick of titles at Melbourne Park on Wednesday and reached her maiden Australian Open semi-final with a 6-1, 5-7, 6-0 win.
Serena Williams admitted that a bad back sustained during practice hampered her movement during her shock fourth round loss to Ana Ivanovic on Sunday, but refused to blame the injury for her stunning exit that blew the Australian Open wide open.
Images from the Australian Open matches played on Sunday.
Images from the Australian Open matches played in Melbourne on Saturday.
A marauding Rafael Nadal ended Stefanos Tsitsipas's trailblazing run at the Australian Open on Thursday, thrashing the 20-year-old Greek in a 6-2, 6-4, 6-0 masterclass to reach a fifth final at Melbourne Park.
Images from Day One of the Australian Open, in Melbourne, on Monday.
Armed with a new coach and bigger racket, Roger Federer hopes being in the unusual position of underdog will help him add to his record tally of 17 Grand Slam titles.
American Frances Tiafoe celebrated his 21st birthday by stunning Bulgaria's Grigor Dimitrov 7-5, 7-6(6), 6-7(1), 7-5 in the fourth round of the Australian Open on Sunday.
Sania Mirza and Rohan Bopanna set up a mixed doubles quarter-final clash against each other at the Australian Open after winning their respective matches, in Melbourne.
Victoria Azarenka thinks her rivalry with Serena Williams is making her a better player and is looking forward to renewing it over the next four weeks at the Brisbane International and the Australian Open.
Chinese tennis star Li Na gave birth to a baby girl early on Wednesday morning.
Images from the matches played on Day 8 at the Australian Open at Melbourne Park on Tuesday
Australia's traditional love of the underdog and admiration for sporting battlers garnered plenty of support for Briton Andy Murray during his long wait for Grand Slam success.
Simona Halep and Caroline Wozniacki will compete for high stakes in Saturday's Australian Open final, having each needed to save match points to prevent a premature exit at Melbourne Park.
Mirjana Lucic-Baroni offered no excuses for her meek departure from the Australian Open semi-finals at the hands of Serena Williams on Thursday, keener to discuss the career-high ranking that will follow her stunning run at Melbourne Park.
It was back in 2003 that Serena Williams first stamped her name on Australian Open history, the then 21-year-old taking down sister Venus to bring home her first title on the blue courts of Melbourne Park.
Serena Williams battled a misbehaving serve and scorching heat but stayed cool under pressure in a 7-5, 6-4 win over Czech Barbora Strycova to reach the Australian Open quarter-finals on Monday.
So prior to their Melbourne Park rematch, former champion Sharapova said she was primed and ready for another drawn out dog-fight against the 14th seed.
Mischa still finds time to tease 'Sascha', despite his little brother's rapid ascent up the tennis rankings.
Victoria Azarenka's hopes of a remarkable comeback Australian Open victory crumbled under Angelique Kerber's winners on Wednesday but the Belarusian was pleased with solid three weeks Down Under that made her feel she had turned a corner.
Defending champion Victoria Azarenka suffered a panic attack trying to close out her Australian Open semi-final against American teenager Sloane Stephens on Thursday and needed a long medical timeout before setting up a final against Li Na.
Photos of the Australian Open matches
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