The 2010 Australian Open proved one thing.

In an American sport culture that always promotes the next big thing, sometimes the older dogs still have it.

It was April 4, 2009. Roger Federer was coming off a loss to then-world No. 4 Novak Djokovic in the semifinals of the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami. He was without a title in the 2009 hard court season. Rafael Nadal, the world’s top ranked player, was the new man to beat. After all, Federer was 27; that’s when tennis players start to go in the tank.

Right? Not exactly.

At the 2010 Australian Open, Federer proved that he is still the greatest player in the world by winning his 16th major tournament, the most ever. The Federer Express has now won three of the past four grand slams. Not bad for a guy who was not the man to beat, right?

Federer, according to The Associated Press, was very pleased with his performance in Australia.

“I’m over the moon winning this again,” Federer told The Associated Press. “I played some of my best tennis in my life these last two weeks.”

In clinching his 16th major title, Federer showed that at 28, he still plays at a much higher level than all his rivals when it matters. Djokovic and Murray have just one major between them. Nadal has battled injuries and dropped to fourth in the world. Andy Roddick? Federer’s further into his head than Greer Wright is in coaches’ heads when they prepare to face the Bearcats.

The women’s Australian Open was also won by the greatest champion of the era: Serena Williams.

From 2006 to 2008, Williams won just two grand slams. Players like Justine Henin and Kim Clijsters were perceived as the world’s greatest, because Williams did not have a burning desire inside of her to fight for major titles. Younger competitors like Ana Ivanovic, Jelena Jankovic and Maria Sharapova, and others were set to dominate the game.

Just like with Federer, Williams showed she is far from done.

With her 2010 Australian Open title, Williams tied Billie Jean King for the fifth most majors of all time with 12. Williams has now won three of the past five grand slams and proved what she said in May of last year when she was ranked second in the world.

“We all know who the real No. 1 is,” Williams told Italian Open reporters. “Quite frankly, I’m the best in the world.”

By winning the Australian Open title, Williams also showed one thing: as last year’s No. 1, she was not just a placeholder for Henin. In May 2008, Henin retired ranked No. 1 in the world and people questioned if Williams’ dominance would have happened with Henin around. However, by defeating the Belgian in the Australian Open final, Williams now bests Henin in total majors won (12-7) and head-to-head record (8-6), with wins in their past two affairs.

With a major title under their belts to start 2010, Federer and Williams have a chance to make history at 28 years old each. Considering their strong play at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open (17 combined titles), the two players can threaten to complete the grand slam (win all four majors in a year), if they can win at the French Open, where both players have had their least success but both won once. No player has done that since Steffi Graf in 1988.

So, can old dogs learn new tricks? Sure, if their names are Federer and Williams.