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...
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...
His fairy tale run Down Under ended in the pain of blisters on Rod Laver Arena on Friday night, but Hyeon Chung is taking nothing but positives out of his semi-final showing at the Australian Open. With Roger Federer’s plaudits ringing in his ears as he left the court – “I think he's going to achieve next level excellence - Top 10 [in the ATP Rankings] for sure.” – the 21-year-old South Korean said he is leaving Melbourne with a lot of confidence. The Next Gen ATP Finals champion had toppled Novak Djokovic and Alexander Zverev en route to his maiden Grand Slam semi-final, but was unable to bring his best against Federer as blisters took their toll. In his...
Kyle Edmund reflected on an unforgettable 11 days at the Australian Open after his semi-final loss to Marin Cilic in his post-match press conference on Thursday. The Briton went past the round of 16 at a Grand Slam event for the first time and recorded the biggest win of his career, beating World No. 3 Grigor Dimitrov, to reach the semi-finals. Asked about his overriding emotions immediately following his three-set loss to Cilic, Edmund pointed towards the newfound experience the deep run in Melbourne has given him. “[I am] disappointed I lost, but it's been a really good couple of weeks for me,” reflected Edmund. “I got the experience of going deep in a slam for the first time and...
Tomas Berdych’s search for a first Grand Slam title goes on after losing to Roger Federer for the third consecutive year at the Australian Open. The two-time semi-finalist at Melbourne Park looked in great form as he led the 19-time major championship winner 5-2 in the first set, twice holding set point, but could not convert as he watched his lead, and grip on the match, slip away. Shorty after the match, the Czech No. 1 revealed his thoughts on a critical first set and the affect it had on the result. “It was a good start,” said Berdych. “I had good chances, a couple of set points. I think he just got more confident after he saved the first...
