RAFAEL NADAL

Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal are continuing their dominance despite being the in the latter stages of their career.

Rafael Nadal will start his 2018 campaign with 16 Slams, three shy of his arch-nemesis Roger Federer, who has started the year in great form.

Federer and Nadal made full use of a comparatively easier challenge, claiming two Slams each to end the year as the two top-ranked players of the season.

Stan Wawrinka and Rafael Nadal have given the Australian Open a major boost following the withdrawals of Serena Williams, Andy Murray and Kei Nishikori.

Rafael and Toni have won everything there is to win – 16 Grand Slams, 30 Masters Series titles and two Olympic gold medals in the singles and doubles events

Djokovic has been recovering from an elbow injury that saw him miss the better part of 2017 and rendered him a doubt for 2018.

Roger Federer skipped the entire clay scene in 2017 after winning the Australian Open and reaped the dividends as he went on to win his eighth Wimbledon title.

Roger Federer managed four wins in four meetings against Rafael Nadal in 2017, three of which came during the Australian Open, Miami Open and Shanghai Masters finals.

In the current year, Nadal has designs of replicating his 2017 form that saw him win six titles, including two Grand Slams – the French and the US Open.

Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray and Rafael Nadal will make way for new age stars in the next two years.

Andy Murray will not play at the 2018 Australian Open after failing to recover from his long-standing hip injury. Nadal is on his way to Melbourne for first Grand Slam.

Federer was watched by 13,943 fans as he beat Karen Khachanov 6-3, 7-6 at the Perth Arena, the highest ever attendance at the Hopman Cup.

Federer and Nadal claimed two Slams each to end the year as the two top-ranked players of the season.

Andy Murray has pulled out of the Brisbane International after suffering a setback on his long standing hip problem.

Rafael Nadal pulled out of the Brisbane International with a knee problem while Novak Djokovic named himself out of the Qatar Open with a setback on his elbow.

Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer and Andy Murray have won 28 of the 32 Grand Slams since 2010.

Raonic had to pull the curtains down on his year after suffering a calf ailment in Tokyo in early October.

Novak Djokovic has not played competitive tennis since his loss in the 2017 Wimbledon quarter-finals and was expected to return to action at the Mubadala World Tennis Championship.

Djokovic is making a similar comeback from injury like Federer did at the start of the 2017 season. The Serb ended his 2017 season after his loss at Wimbledon in July.

Both Nadal and Federer had a brilliant 2017 campaign, matching each other with two Grand Slams a piece.

Federer beat Nadal on four occasions in 2017 with three of them coming in the finals – the Australian Open, the Shanghai Masters and the Miami Masters.