Roger Federer seals 20th Grand Slam title after stunning five-set battle with Marin Cilic

Federer eventually extended his Grand Slam record in the men’s game after an incredible three-hour battle on the Rod Laver court as it took five sets and some stunning changes of momentum.

Cilic fought bravely but Roger Federer was just too good in the end and won 6-2, 6-7, 6-3, 3-6, 6-1.

World No 2 Federer came into he match hot favourite having not dropped a set on the way to the final and after beating Cilic in the Wimbledon final last year.

And he surged to an early lead in comfortable fashion before Cilic rounded to make a game of it.

Federer simply blew Cilic away in the first set and looked on course for a straight-set victory but things swung round in the second set.

Cilic took it to a tie break and managed to get level in the match and make it a contest.

Federer then swarmed forward and won the third without much trouble before Cilic managed to get on top again.

But that was the end of the fight and Federer roared home in the final set to make it 20 Grand Slam titles and a sixth Australian Open title.

“I’m so happy, it’s unbelievable,” Federer said on court afterwards.

“It’s been a long time waiting for this final. It’s easier in the afternoon, but when it’s at night you think about it all day. I’m happy it’s over now. It’s a dream come true and the fairytale continues.

“After the year I had last year, it’s incredible.”

The 36-year-old, the second oldest man to win a slam title behind Ken Rosewall, moves four clear again of Rafael Nadal in terms of overall titles and is only three behind Serena Williams and four adrift of all-time record holder Margaret Court.

The crunch moment of the match came in the opening game of the decider. Playing at his peak, Cilic overpowered Federer from the baseline but the second seed withstood the pressure to save two break points.

A successful HawkEye challenge on a Cilic second serve helped him break in the next game and another break for 5-1 left him serving for the title. He needed only one match point, with Cilic netting a backhand return.

The Croatian appealed to HawkEye but the serve just clipped the line.

“First of all congrats to Roger and his team,” Cilic said, who will move up to No 3 in the world tomorrow.

“It’s amazing what he does year after year. All the best for 2018.

“It was an amazing journey for me. It could have been the best two weeks of my life. I had the chance at the beginning of the fifth but he played a great match.

“My team have been unbelievable for the last two weeks. We started this year amazingly well and hopefully we can reach more finals and lift more trophies!”

Controversially, the roof was shut on Rod Laver Arena, with the tournament referee using his discretion to implement the extreme heat policy even though it was an evening match and the temperature was not at the 40C threshold.

The combination of heat and humidity arguably made conditions more brutal than when the temperature was hotter earlier in the tournament and the referee may have had the fate of women’s runner-up Simona Halep in mind.

The women’s final was played in similar conditions, although not quite as hot, and ESPN showed a picture of Halep in hospital on a drip on Saturday night, apparently suffering from dehydration after her gruelling battle with Caroline Wozniacki.

The decision certainly seemed to play into Federer’s hands. If the Swiss is great outdoors, he is the master indoors, suffocating opponents with his pace of play.

Cilic certainly looked like he needed space to breathe as he dumped a smash into the bottom of the net to drop serve in the opening game and it got worse from there until he composed himself to hold in the fifth game.

Although the first set was gone, the last couple of games at least allowed the 29-year-old to get a foothold, and it was he who eventually claimed a second set that saw both men have chances.

Cilic looked like he might have missed his opportunity when he netted a weak backhand on set point at 5-4 but he made up for it with a terrific tie-break, his improvement in the match demonstrated by the rock solid smash that clinched it.

He was the better player at the start of the third set, too, but Federer found his level again to take it and looked poised to cruise over the line at 3-1 in the fourth.

However, Federer was struggling to find a first serve and Cilic began to crush the second one with his forehand. The Croatian engineered an unlikely turnaround by winning five straight games to force a decider.

He piled the pressure on at the start of the fifth, overpowering Federer from the baseline, but the 36-year-old held firm to save two break points. And with that Cilic’s window of opportunity shut.