The Australian Open truly turned back the clock this year, with a classic Federer-Nadal final that went to 5-sets and an all-Williams women’s final, which saw Serena notch up grand slam title number 23.

There was fairy tale after fairy tale at this year’s event, with avid tennis fans relishing in the excitement, which also left stalwarts of the sport scratching their heads as form guides were tossed out the window after the first few rounds.

As with any new year, brings new opportunities for players to stamp their authority and pave the foundation for their 2017 campaign.  Let’s look back at some of the unbelievable performances by women's players who reaffirmed that anything can happen in tennis.

23-year-old American Coco Vandeweghe is undoubtedly a force to be reckoned with on the WTA circuit this year, after claiming some big scalps along the way to her quarter-final match, including defending champion Angelique Kerber and 2016 French Open champion Garbine Muguruza. Vandeweghe's powerful ground strokes brought a lot of her opponents unstuck. It was evident nerves got the better of the American in her straight-sets quarter-final loss to Venus Williams, however, the confidence she will take from her performances, will no doubt place her well into the top 20 this year.  

Talented German Mona Barthel’s return to the circuit is simply incredible after contracting a serious illness, which left her bedridden for the majority of last year. Barthel broke the hearts of Australian fans in round three, defeating Ash Barty and produced a solid effort despite going down to finalist Venus Williams in round four. Barthel played three qualifying rounds just to get into the main draw and it didn't take her long to gain momentum, defeating number 29 seed Monica Puig in straight sets. As a result of her impressive tournament performance, Barthel propelled 70 spots on the WTA rankings from 181 to 111 and it’s only a matter of time before she breaks back into the top 100 where she belongs.

It became a well-known trend at the Australian Open that age was simply a number and this philosophy perfectly sums up 34-year-old Mirjana Lucic-Baroni. The Croatian eliminated number three seed Agnieszka Radwanska in the second round and went on to defeat one of the tournament favorites Karolina Pliskova in the quarter-finals in three sets. Despite her sensational form, Lucic-Baroni's fairy tale run came to end in the semi-finals at the hands of eventual tournament winner Serena Williams. It was the first time she'd made a semi-final of a grand slam since Wimbledon in 1999 and undoubtedly has earned the respect of her younger opponents and audiences worldwide.

The interim period between now and the French Open in May will prove very interesting viewing as to whether the top-ranked women's players who were somewhat disappointing in Australia can redeem themselves, and if the underdogs can keep their sensational momentum going.