Tropical island session sets up Federer and Cilic for final

Swiss goes for 20th grand slam title after semi-final opponent Chung forced to retire

Two months after practising together on holiday in the Maldives, Roger Federer and Marin Cilic will face off for the second time in three grand slam finals tomorrow.

Cilic comfortably defeated Britain’s Kyle Edmund in the Australian Open semi-finals on Thursday, while Federer did not even have to complete his match as Hyeon Chung retired with severe blisters while trailing 6-1, 5-2, to the shock and disappointment of the crowd on Rod Laver Arena.

There was a smattering of boos but Federer had huge sympathy. He said: “I thought the first set was kind of normal, I couldn’t tell what was going on with my opponent. In the second set I started to feel he was getting a bit slower, fighting with the blisters. I’ve played with blisters in the past and it hurts a lot. At one point it’s too much.it’s better to stop. This feels bittersweet. I’m incredibly happy to be in the finals but not like this.”

Federer continues to reset the record books and will go for a 20th grand slam title in his 30th final. The match will be a repeat of last summer’s Wimbledon final when, coincidentally, Cilic was in tears because of blisters. But they have faced each other more recently and in more unusual surroundings.

Federer said of their holiday meeting: “I was there first and he arrived later on the island. I was told that Marin was coming. I was like, ‘Oh, that’s cool’.

“When he arrived, I didn’t want to bother him. He didn’t want to bother me. After two days, he wrote to me: ‘I’m here, too, in case you want to catch up and stuff, let me know’. I was like, ‘Sure, let me know if you want to hit’.

“He was eager to hit because it’s good to stay in the rhythm for both of us. We also met up later for drinks. I met his fiancée. We had cake together, my whole family and him. We had a good time.

“We actually went to practise twice for 45 minutes. It was great fun. No coaches, no nothing, just the two of us on the court hitting balls. It was just nice and laid back. To get to know the man behind the tennis player, I guess.”

Chung had been bidding to become just the third Asian player to reach a grand slam final after former Australian Open champion Li Na and Kei Nishikori, and he had shown, particularly with his victory over Novak Djokovic in the fourth round, that he has the game to trouble the best.

The Korean will have bigger and better days at slams in the future but this was a difficult experience from the moment he dropped serve in the opening game. He gave no indication that he was struggling physically until calling for a medical time-out at 1-4 in the second set, although he was completely unable to match Federer, who bullied the Korean with his forehand.

Chung, it emerged, had been struggling with multiple blisters for several days and an injection for the pain was not successful. The 21-yearold said: “It really hurt. I can’t walk any more. I think I did the right thing. If I play bad on the court, it’s not good for the fans as well. I’m happy to be able to make semis in a grand slam. I want to be stronger next year.”