Roger Federer successfully defended his Australian Open crown to land his sixth title in Melbourne and collect a landmark 20th Grand Slam of his career with a five-set victory against Marin Cilic on Sunday.
Federer was pushed all the way by Cilic but came through a dramatic contest 6-2 6-7(5-7) 6-3 3-6 6-1 in three hours and three minutes.
With the roof closed on Rod Laver Arena due to extreme heat, it was Federer who made a faultless start, while it quickly turning into a nightmare for Cilic after he dumped a smash into the bottom of the net to lose serve in the opening game before falling 4-0 down.
The relief was visibly etched on Cilic's face when he finally got on the board in the fifth game.
However, there was no way back for the sixth seed with the set already in the bag for Federer, who duly served it out in just 24 minutes.Â
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