Roger Federer fought off a fierce challenge from Croatia’s Marin Cilic to claim a record-equalling sixth Australian Open title with 6-2 6-7(5) 6-3 3-6 6-1 victory on Sunday.
With the Rod Laver Arena roof closed to spare the players on a witheringly hot day in Melbourne, the 36-year-old Swiss was gliding towards a 20th Grand Slam title.
He took the opening set against a nervy opponent in 24 minutes.
For a while, it looked horribly reminiscent of Cilic’s heavy defeat by Federer in last year’s Wimbledon final when the 29-year-old was hampered by blisters and broke down in tears.
But the sixth seed, playing in his first Australian Open final after knocking out injured Rafael Nadal in the quarter-finals, showed great resolve.
He saved break points at 1-1, 2-2 and 4-4 in the second set before crunching some huge forehands in the tiebreaker to level the match against all the odds.
Federer won the third set with a single break of serve.
But from a position of strength in the fourth, he began to fade and lost five games on the spin.
An increasingly dangerous Cilic looked to be getting back, as he dragged a slow-burning final into a decider.
Federer regrouped though and after fighting off a break point at the start of the fifth, Cilic’s resistance crumbled as the crowd roared the defending champion on to victory.
“I‘m so happy, it’s unbelievable, it’s been a long day,” Federer said. “I‘m happy it’s over now. The fairytale continues for us. For me, it’s incredible,” said an emotional Federer as he cradled the Norman Brookes trophy.
