Roger Federer has put some space between himself and those chasing him

Roger Federer beat Rafael Nadal in the final of the Australian Open. Maybe more importantly, Federer now has 18 career Grand Slam singles titles, extending his lead over the two rivals chasing him, Nadal and Novak Djokovic.

After Federer won his 17th Grand Slam at age 30 at Wimbledon in 2012, it wasn't clear if Federer would ever break through again. He only reached the final of three of the next 17 Slams, and only played in two in 2016.

For a while it seemed like the biggest threat to Federer was Djokovic, who won six out of eight Grand Slams, starting with Wimbledon in 2014 and going through the 2016 French Open. But now he has failed to reach even the quarterfinals in two of the last three majors. Meanwhile, Nadal, despite his strong run in Melbourne, has now gone winless in the Grand Slams since the 2014 French Open.

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