Marin Cilic was close, just not close enough. Playing with great focus and pin-point accuracy on his world class groundstrokes, the 29 year old Croatian battled back from a break down in the fourth set and found himself with break points of his own to start the decisive set in the Australian Open final, which would see Roger Federer emerge victorious after three tense hours. One return into the net. One wide. And that was it. Federer would run away with the fifth set, claiming his record-equaling sixth Australian Open crown (alongside Roy Emerson, Novak Djokovic) and an unprecedented 20th Grand Slam title in the Swiss’ storied career. Cilic had come so close to achieving a second Grand Slam success...
Watch highlights as Roger Federer pulls through a tough five-setter to claim his 20th Grand Slam title and record-tying sixth trophy at the Australian Open. Watch more video and live matches at www.ausopen.com. Highlights not available in Aus., NZ or Canada and only available in Europe and USA 24 hours after completion of the match. Photo Credit: Peter Staples/ATP World Tour.
Roger Federer is within reach of the No. 1 ATP Ranking for the first time in over five years after successfully defending his Australian Open title at Melbourne Park on Monday. But he needs to act fast! Federer, who last held the top spot on 4 October 2012, moved to within 155 points of Rafael Nadal after claiming his 20th Grand Slam title and could dethrone Nadal as World No. 1 in early March when the ATP World Tour 500 events in Dubai and Acapulco conclude. On 5 March, Nadal will drop the 300 points he earned last year by reaching the Acapulco final (l. Querrey). Federer, who suffered a shock second-round loss to Evgeny Donksoy in the Dubai second...
Roger Federer struck early and struck often to win an unprecedented 20th Grand Slam tournament title at Melbourne Park on Sunday night. Federer defeated Marin Cilic 6-2, 6-7(5), 6-3, 3-6, 6-1 in a captivating final that was completely dominated by short rallies. The serve and return took centre stage over bruising baseline exchanges to deliver the Swiss maestro his sixth Australian Open crown. The line in the sand in the final was clearly the fourth shot landing in the court. Two shots for the server, two for the returner, and then daylight. Rally Length • 0-4 Shots = 76% (212) • 5-8 Shots = 19% (52) • 9+ Shots = 5% (16) More than three out of every four points...
Marin Cilic luchó, desplegó todo su repertorio, tuvo mejores momentos y otros no tanto y pese a no llegar a la meta, el premio tan buscado de poder levantar el trofeo en Melbourne, mantiene la cabeza en alto, con humildad y con la capacidad suficiente para analizar lo ocurrido, quedarse con lo bueno y correr a un lado cualquier examen negativo de conciencia. “Estoy un poco decepcionado, pero es normal. Fue una gran batalla, cinco sets, pero estoy contento con mi actuación. Mentalmente fue duro”, analizó. En su 3º definición de Grand Slam, el croata pudo estirar el encuentro a un definitivo 5º set tras revertir heroicamente la cuarta manga en la que había arranca con un quiebre de saque...
