It was the 35-year-old Federer’s first major title since Wimbledon in 2012, his first in Australia since 2010, and it reversed the status quo against his nemesis, Nadal.
Both players were returning from extended layoffs — Federer for six months after Wimbledon with an injured left knee; Nadal for a couple of months with an injured left wrist — and were seeded 17th and ninth respectively.
Federer had lost six of the previous eight Grand Slam finals he’d played against Nadal, and was 11-23 in their career meetings.
After twice coming back from a set down, Nadal was a break up in the fifth — until Federer regained control and ultimately became the first man in the Open era to win three of the Grand Slam events at least five times (7 Wimbledon, 5 U.S. Open, 5 Australian Open and 1 French Open title).
Nadal remains equal second with Pete Sampras on the all-time list with 14 — and none since the 2014 French Open.
It capped a remarkable weekend for 30-somethings — all four singles finalists were 30 or older — after Serena Williams beat her sister Venus Williams in the women’s final to capture her Open-era record 23rd Grand Slam title.