Rafael Nadal vs Novak Djokovic Australian Open 2019 Men's Final

They dare not say it, but history will weigh heavily on the shoulders of Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic in Sunday’s Australian Open final – and the pressure is being applied by someone who left here several days ago: Roger Federer.

Why these two wonderful players and rivals shy away from speculating about matching or overtaking his record of 20 grand slam titles is hard to fathom. Nadal has 17, Djokovic 14. And time is running out for both of them, more so the Spaniard, probably, who somehow won five singles titles last year with a body hardly fit to leave for science. Yet they pretend that winning more majors than Federer does not occupy their thoughts.

It is as if they may disturb the order of things – or even inspire the 37-year-old Federer to try for even more majors. Perhaps it explains why Federer declared after losing to Stefanos Tsitsipas in the fourth round that he would return to Paris after four years away while resting from the rigours of clay and throw himself into the game’s toughest challenge: winning the French Open with Nadal in it.