Roger Federer capped another remarkable fortnight Down Under as he overcame the highly impressive Marin Cilic 6-2 6-7 6-3 3-6 6-1 in five pulsating sets, to win his 6th Australian Open and an incredible 20th grand slam title. The Croatian had a brilliant tournament, taking out the World no. 1 Nadal in the quarters, and more importantly, had the belief needed to beat the Swiss. And Federer must have known that it wasn't going to be easy.
Cilic first mounted a solid comeback after an ordinary opening set (which he lost 2-6), by winning the second set in a tie-break and then after losing the third set and down a break in the fourth, he unleashed his powerful, flat-out, big-hitting game to win five consecutive games to level the match and take the final to a decider. He even had two break-point opportunities in the opening game of the fifth set but once Federer snuffed them out by way of strong serving, it was one-way traffic as the Swiss maestro broke twice in the final set to win the first grand slam of 2018. Federer out-aced Cilic (24 to 16), made far fewer unforced errors (40 to 64) and trailed only slightly, in terms of winners (41 to 45). He returned remarkably well - getting a whopping 47% of Cilic's huge first serves in play and winning 27% of first serve points; Cilic's respective numbers were 36% and 17%. Also, the Swiss was much more efficient on his own serves (getting 60% first serves in) - winning 80% of first serves and 58% of second serves vs. 69% and 51% respectively, for Cilic. In a match of short points (76% of rallies were 0-4 shots long), both these aspects made a huge difference.
There's also the small matter of Federer's ability to come up with special shots or incredible improvisations when the situation demands. Serving at 4-2, 15-15 in the third set, Federer hit an incredible, inside-out, forehand flick half-volley from the baseline while out of position, back-pedaling and tracking down a heavy backhand - the Croatian, stunned at that recovery, found himself out of position and could only dump his reply into the net. Every Federer match has shots like these - they shock opponents and fans alike.
So what next for the maestro? By winning his 20th grand slam, he has already reached where no man has. His nearest rival is four slams behind and Sampras' 14 slams seem like a distant memory. Federer's smart scheduling has reaped rewards and hence he may curtail his appearances in the clay court season again. If the Swiss keeps up his fitness levels, he'll start as a favourite at both Wimbledon as well as the US Open. A 2-slam year like 2017 is very much on the cards and a 3-slam year (last achieved by Federer in 2007) isn't unfathomable. While it would be very difficult to achieve, a 3-slam year will leave Federer with 22 slams by September 2018, tied with Steffi Graf and just two short of the all-time grand slam leader, Margaret Court. Could we then witness the great man win grand slam no. 25 by 2020? It may sound incredulous today, but then, Federer has made a career out of making the impossible, possible.
Cilic first mounted a solid comeback after an ordinary opening set (which he lost 2-6), by winning the second set in a tie-break and then after losing the third set and down a break in the fourth, he unleashed his powerful, flat-out, big-hitting game to win five consecutive games to level the match and take the final to a decider. He even had two break-point opportunities in the opening game of the fifth set but once Federer snuffed them out by way of strong serving, it was one-way traffic as the Swiss maestro broke twice in the final set to win the first grand slam of 2018. Federer out-aced Cilic (24 to 16), made far fewer unforced errors (40 to 64) and trailed only slightly, in terms of winners (41 to 45). He returned remarkably well - getting a whopping 47% of Cilic's huge first serves in play and winning 27% of first serve points; Cilic's respective numbers were 36% and 17%. Also, the Swiss was much more efficient on his own serves (getting 60% first serves in) - winning 80% of first serves and 58% of second serves vs. 69% and 51% respectively, for Cilic. In a match of short points (76% of rallies were 0-4 shots long), both these aspects made a huge difference.
There's also the small matter of Federer's ability to come up with special shots or incredible improvisations when the situation demands. Serving at 4-2, 15-15 in the third set, Federer hit an incredible, inside-out, forehand flick half-volley from the baseline while out of position, back-pedaling and tracking down a heavy backhand - the Croatian, stunned at that recovery, found himself out of position and could only dump his reply into the net. Every Federer match has shots like these - they shock opponents and fans alike.
So what next for the maestro? By winning his 20th grand slam, he has already reached where no man has. His nearest rival is four slams behind and Sampras' 14 slams seem like a distant memory. Federer's smart scheduling has reaped rewards and hence he may curtail his appearances in the clay court season again. If the Swiss keeps up his fitness levels, he'll start as a favourite at both Wimbledon as well as the US Open. A 2-slam year like 2017 is very much on the cards and a 3-slam year (last achieved by Federer in 2007) isn't unfathomable. While it would be very difficult to achieve, a 3-slam year will leave Federer with 22 slams by September 2018, tied with Steffi Graf and just two short of the all-time grand slam leader, Margaret Court. Could we then witness the great man win grand slam no. 25 by 2020? It may sound incredulous today, but then, Federer has made a career out of making the impossible, possible.
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