Federer joined the can't-count-them-out team with Aussie win

Whether it’s heart or experience, with a champion, you just can’t count them out—and Roger Federer just showed he’s no exception with his Australian Open win.

He’s just the latest to dispel any self-doubt—or the naysayers. Here’s a look at some of the other greats of the game that accomplished the unexpected.

Players in their late 30s are aren't supposed to still be in their prime. Connors obviously didn’t get that memo. After battling a wrist injury for a couple of years, the five-time champ showed up at the US Open with a triple-digit ranking, but made one of the most memorable runs at a Grand Slam in the history of the sport. He lost in the semifinals, but not before captivating the world.

Throughout the mid- to late-1980s, Boris Becker established himself as one of the game’s all-time greats. The next decade got off to a good start for the German, and in 1991, he won the Australian Open. He also reached the final of Wimbledon for the fourth year in a row. However, that was his last appearance in a Slam championship match until Wimbledon 1995. He went a step better at the 1996 Australian Open, beating Michael Chang in four sets for his first Grand Slam title in five years.

Perhaps if Pete Sampras hadn’t picked up a racquet, Goran Ivanisevic would’ve been hailed as one of the greatest champions ever at the All-England Club. As it was, though, he made three Wimbledon finals in the ‘90s, losing to Andre Agassi once and Sampras twice. Throughout the decade, he was a consistent member of the Top 10, peaking at No. 2.

But by the time the 2001 Wimbledon rolled around, the Croat was closer to the end of his career, needing a wildcard just to play. What happened next was the stuff of legends as he made it to the final as he won the title 9-7 in the fifth set over Patrick Rafter.

After he lost his third-round match at the 2002 US Open, Greg Rusedski was not in the frame of mind to offer platitudes about his vanquisher—even if it was four-time champ Pete Sampras. Rusedski felt he had lost the match rather than Sampras won it, and said that the American would lose in the next round.

That might go down as the worst prediction in tennis history.

Granted, entering the tournament that year, Sampras’ aura of invincibility was practically gone. Still, he was able to tap into the reserves and blasted his way to the title, beating longtime rival Agassi for his 14th Slam. After that, Sampras rode off into the sunset to retirement on a high.

It’s hard to believe given what’s happened over the past decade, but at the start of the 2007 season the general consensus was that Serena Williams was done. It had been two years since she won a singles title of any kind. She entered the Australian Open unseeded, but rediscovered her Slam-winning form on the way to the title. And not only did she win the tournament, she pulled off escape acts in the third round and quarterfinals, where her opponents in both rounds had served for the match.