Roger Federer vs Rafael Nadal: The greatest rivalry to burn bright once again under Aus Open lights

The dream final is a reality and now, hopefully, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal deliver a classic for the ages when the two legends of the game meet in the men's singles final of the 2017 Australian Open.

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A packed Rod Laver Arena crowd will expect two of the greatest of all-time to produce another brilliant chapter to their rivalry, one that is arguably the greatest the men's tennis game has ever seen.

Nadal leads the head to head with Federer 23-11, with the left-hander, after a few difficult matches against his Swiss opponent, dominating the rivalry in the recent past.

However, considering these two greats of the game – Federer has a record 17 Grand Slam titles, while Nadal is second on the list with 14 – haven't quite featured too often against each other in majors of late means this really is anybody's match.

The last time Federer played Nadal in a Grand Slam final was in the 2011 French Open, with the Spaniard prevailing in four hard-fought sets. The last time Nadal and Federer met in any Grand Slam match was at the Australian Open in 2014, with the left-hander, again, coming out on top, in the semifinals in 2014.

Federer, though, has looked a different class in this year's Aus Open. Even when he has been tested, taken to that final set, Federer has always looked like winning, and considering this was his first official tournament since Wimbledon last year, that is some achievement.

Like Nadal, who has also had too many injury issues in the in the last couple of years, said after his marathon win over Grigor Dimitrov in the semifinals, neither of them really expected to be here. But now that they are, might as well make the most of it.

Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray might be the two best players in the word at the moment, but when it comes to sheer box office appeal, nobody comes close to Federer and Nadal – they are the undisputed kings in popularity contests and there will be swathes of support for both these superstars come final time on Sunday.

Federer, who needed five sets to top Stan Wawrinka in the semifinals, will be the better rested player, having played on Thursday, with his match only lasting three hours and four minutes.

Nadal's semifinal against Dimitrov was on Friday and that contest went for a ridiculous four hours and 56 minutes.

Considering both players are not exactly spring chickens anymore, the greater rest time might help Federer, but the Swiss will know, against his greatest rival, a better body alone will not be enough – most of the time, their contests have come down to who stays mentally stronger, and this boy-it's-going-to-be-fun final is going to be no different.