FED’S A TRUE SOBBING GENIUS
TENNIS: AUSTRALIAN OPEN Wilder stalks Joshua Tears as Roger clocks Slam No.20
ROGER FEDERER cried tears of joy after sealing the 20th Grand Slam of his glittering career here yesterday.
But the Fed Express was forced to go the distance by Croatian opponent Marin Cilic before claiming his sixth Australian Open in a five-set thriller.
At a time when many would expect the Swiss to be counting down to retirement, he has won three of the last five majors. The 36-year-old genius has become the first man and only the fourth player of all time – after Margaret Court, Serena Williams and Steffi Graf – to win
20 or more from IAIN STEWART in Melbourne Grand Slam singles titles. He cried on court after winning his first at Wimbledon 15 years ago and he was sobbing again yesterday after seeing off Cilic 6-2 6-7 6-3 3-6 6-1.
“Defending my title from last year, the fairytale continues,” he said. “It’s definitely another very special moment in my life.
“It’s a long day waiting for the final,” he added.
Emotional
“It’s easier when it’s in the afternoon-time. “You sleep, you go out there, you do your best and that’s it. “But when it’s at night, you think about the match all day. It’s tough. “That’s why I was so bloody emotional at the end. “In the third, fourth and fifth sets, I kept thinking, ‘What would I feel like if I won? What would it feel like if I lost?’ It wouldn’t go away. “I was so close and my mind was all over the place, ‘I’m so close, don’t mess this up!’ And that’s exactly when you mess it up. That’s why it got to me at the end.
“I’ve won three Slams now in 12 months,” he said. “I can’t believe it myself.
“I’ve just got to keep a good schedule, stay hungry, then maybe good things can happen.
“Then I don’t think age is an issue, per se. It’s just a number.”
The final was played with the roof closed at the Rod Laver Arena to protect both players and spectators as temperature hit 37C (102F) but Cilic still froze in the first set. He recovered to put the heat on Federer in the second and fourth sets before being overrun in the decider. In stark contrast, Dane Caroline Wozniacki (left, with the trophy) won her first Grand Slam – at the 43rd attempt – as she beat Simona Halep of Romania 7-6 3-6 6-4 in Saturday’s women’s final. The 27-year-old said: “I’m never going to get that question again (about when she was going to win her first Grand Slam).
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