MELBOURNE (Reuters) - Roger Federer overcame Marin Cilic 6-2 6-7(5) 6-3 3-6 6-1 in a thrilling Melbourne Park final to win a record-equalling sixth Australian Open trophy and 20th grand slam title of his glittering career.
Federer prevailed in just over three hours under the Rod Laver Arena roof to become the third man after Roy Emerson and Novak Djokovic to claim six Australian Open titles.
The Swiss now has four more grand slam titles than his great rival Rafael Nadal.
Cilic, who knocked out an ailing Nadal in the quarter-finals, showed plenty of courage in his first final appearance at the event to come back from a break and take the match into a deciding fifth set.
But despite his big hitting, he could not stop Federer from running away with the title.
“I‘m so happy, it’s unbelievable,” Federer said, holding back tears.
“I‘m happy it’s over, but winning is just an absolute dream come true. The fairytale continues for me. After the great year I had last year, it’s incredible.”
Addressing the fans, he added: “You guys make me nervous. You guys make me practice. You guys fill the stadiums. Thank you.”
Earlier, Croatia’s Mate Pavic and Canada’s Gabriela Dabrowski beat India’s Rohan Bopanna and Timea Babos of Hungary 2-6 6-4 (11-9) to win the mixed doubles title.
Highlights of Sunday’s 14th day of the Australian Open, the first grand slam tournament of the year (times in GMT):
Federer defeated Cilic 6-2 6-7(5) 6-3 3-6 6-1 to claim a record-equalling sixth Australian Open title and 20th grand slam.
0836 PLAY UNDERWAY IN MEN‘S FINAL
The men’s final got underway at the Rod Laver Arena.
Dabrowski and Pavic defeated Babos and Bopanna 2-6 6-4 (11-9) in 68 minutes to win the mixed doubles title.
Compiled by Shrivathsa Sridhar; Editing by Amlan Chakraborty and Pritha Sarkar