The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Federer wins 20th major
MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA » As Roger Federer cried while accepting his 20th Grand Slam title, Rod “Rocket” Laver took a chance to snap a picture for posterity.
Federer has won more major singles titles than any man, including a recordequaling six on the court that bears the great Rod Laver’s name at Melbourne Park.
This one, following a tension-filled, momentumswinging 6-2, 6-7 (5), 6-3, 3-6, 6-1 win over Marin Cilic in the Australian Open final Jan. 28, was a keeper.
Laver has been involved in the on-court presentations in the past, witnessing Federer’s tears at close range. This time, the 79-year-old Laver — the only man to twice win all four Grand Slam titles in one season — held up his mobile phone to get the shot from the stands.
“I didn’t see that through my thick tears, that he was taking a picture of me crying,” Federer said. He joked in a TV interview that, “I couldn’t lift my head, I was so embarrassed.”
Surely, it’s only an embarrassment of riches.
Federer arrived in Melbourne at the start of 2017 after an extended injury layoff and on a Grand Slam title drought that dated back to 2012 at Wimbledon. Against the odds, he reached the final and then beat Rafael Nadal in a classic, five-set encounter. Now, having successfully defended his Australian title, Federer has won three of the last five majors in a stunning career resurgence.
“I’m so happy. It’s unbelievable,” Federer said, taking deep breaths and choking back tears. “Of course, winning is an absolute dream come true — the fairytale continues for us, for me, after the great year I had last year, it’s incredible.”
Federer started to tear up toward the end of the trophy ceremony. He then received a standing ovation as tears streamed down his face.
At the age of 36 years, 173 days, Federer became the second-oldest man to win a Grand Slam singles title in the Open era after Ken Rosewall, who won the 1972 Australian Open at 37.