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MELBOURNE (Reuters): Even after 20 grand slam titles, the tears gushing down Roger Federer’s cheeks after winning his sixth Australian Open crown on Sunday showed the competitive fires still rage within the 36-year-old Swiss.
Having regained control to put down sixth seed Marin Cilic 6-2 6-7(5) 6-3 3-6 6-1 under a closed roof at Rod Laver Arena, Federer promptly lost it at the end of his victory speech.
“And my team, I love you guys. Thank you,” Federer, cradling the Norman Brookes Cup, said with a quivering voice before breaking down in tears.
The show of emotion triggered a standing ovation in the terraces, the tears spreading to his wife Mirka and parents in the players’ box.
Tennis great Rod Laver, 79, snapped the moment on his mobile phone for posterity.
Joining Novak Djokovic and Roy Emerson as the only men to win six Australian Open trophies, Federer also emulated Laver by winning his fourth grand slam title after his 30th birthday.
“It is a different emotion, clearly. The first (grand slam title) is like ‘oh my god! I was able to win one’. The rest now doesn’t really matter at this point,” Federer told host broadcaster Channel Seven in front of hundreds of fans at Melbourne Park’s Garden Square.
“This one here tonight reminded me more of maybe the 2006 win when I beat (Marcos) Baghdatis in the finals.
“I had a great run to the finals (in 2006) and was a huge favourite going in ... I was just so relieved when everything was said and done I think I felt the same way tonight.
“That is why I couldn’t speak, it was terrible.”
Having qualified for an astonishing 30th grand slam final, Federer admitted that nerves had got the better of him during a scorching hot day as he waited to take his place for the evening match.
“My thoughts were all over the place. All day I was thinking ‘What if I lost? What if I won?’ Every minute of the day,” he said. “Thank God I slept to 11.”
The nerves returned for the Swiss at several stages through the three-hour three-minute clash, and he felt the trophy slipping from his grasp after the fourth set.
He had to save two break points in an epic service game at the start of the fifth set before riding the momentum home as Cilic’s power game wavered.
“At the end of the second (set) I got nervous and that is the reason I lost the second set and I couldn’t take control of the match,” added Federer.
“It got tight and Marin held me out in the third and the fifth. I got lucky tonight.”
MELBOURNE (Reuters): Australian Open champion Roger Federer is set to continue defying Father Time after announcing he will return to defend his title next year, the Swiss said on Monday.
The 36-year-old notched up his 20th grand slam title and sixth at Melbourne Park on Sunday with a 6-2 6-7(5) 6-3 3-6 6-1 victory over Croatia’s Marin Cilic, but initially forgot to say whether or not he planned to defend the title.
“Yeah, I’d love to come back. I know I forgot to say that after the match,” a bleary-eyed Federer told reporters on Monday. “But I hope I come back again next year.”
Federer equalled the record of six Australian Open men’s titles, held by Novak Djokovic and Roy Emerson, and emulated Ken Rosewall’s feat of claiming three grand slam titles after the age of 35.
His longevity has in part been put down to the careful management of his playing schedule.
Despite being fully fit, he skipped the entire claycourt season last year to concentrate on Wimbledon, a decision that paid off with his eighth title on the southwest London grass courts.
He reiterated on Monday that he would continue to manage his schedule tightly and despite being within sight of the world’s top ranking, a decision on whether or not his next tournament would be in Dubai in late February had yet to be made.
“We were in talks with them (Dubai organisers) but when the (Australian Open) tournament started, I just said ‘look, if it’s okay, I’d like to decide after the tournament’,” he said.
“That’s an ideal scenario for me. After the tournament, I’ll know how I feel... did I come out injured or not? So now we know what the situation is. I also have to decide on the claycourt season so all these things are kind of interlinked. But it’s possible I’ll play something, but it’s also possible that maybe I just don’t play anything (for a while).”
More surreal
Federer said he would make the decision about his schedule after spending some time with family at home in Switzerland, where he hoped the fact he had won the Australian Open title again would finally sink in.
“This year seems more surreal, I can’t believe I was able to defend my title after all these years, that I could do it again,” he said. ”To reach number 20, number six here, it’s just a lot trying to take it in.
“Last year was a lot more straightforward, just disbelief that I won and there I was waking up with the trophy. But, I don’t know, this year feels more surreal. I can’t believe that I was able to defend my title, that after all these years I could do it again. It’s super special, one of the great moments in my career, and maybe this one is going to take longer to sink in.”
