(MENAFN- Muscat Daily) A tearful Roger Federer powered home to beat Marin Cilic in five riveting sets to win his sixth Australian Open and 20th Grand Slam title on Sunday. The Swiss defending champion dropped his only sets of the tournament before completing a 6-2, 6-7, 6-3, 3-6, 6-1 win over the sixth seeded Croatian.
Federer, playing in his 30th Grand Slam final, joined Novak Djokovic and Australian great Roy Emerson as joint top for the most Australian Open men's titles at six, and moves four clear of Rafael Nadal in the all-time list for men's Grand Slam champions on 20.
Federer becomes only the fourth player after Margaret Court, Serena Williams and Steffi Graf to win 20 or more major singles titles.
"I'm so happy it's unbelievable. This is a dream come true, the fairytale continues for me," Federer said at the presentation. "After the great year last year, it's incredible," the 36 year old said. Federer, who has won three of the last five majors, added to his already imposing win-loss record in Melbourne and is now 94-13. His overall Grand Slam mark stands at 332-52.
"It was an amazing journey to come to the final. It could have been the best two weeks of my life, but Roger played a great fifth set," Cilic said. "I want to thank my team, you're unbelievable. We worked hard for this year, hopefully we will lift these trophies in the future."
With the roof closed over Rod Laver Arena and air-conditioning taking the edge off the temperature, Federer and Cilic played out a gripping contest over three hours and two minutes. After a poor start, Cilic looked to have the momentum when he won five games in a row to force a fifth set, but Federer clung on to his serve at the start of the decider and got the key break in the following game.
Earlier, Mate Pavic won his second title in 24 hours on Sunday, pairing with Gabriela Dabrowski to beat Timea Babos and Rohan Bopanna 2-6, 6-4, 11-9 in the mixed doubles final. Pavic had won the men's doubles final with Austrian Oliver Marach.
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