MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — The
Latest on Sunday from the Australian Open (all times local):
Roger Federer has captured his
20th Grand Slam singles title, beating Marin Cilic in a tense, back-and-forth
Australian Open final 6-2, 6-7 (5), 6-3, 3-6, 6-1.
It's the sixth Australian Open title in Federer's illustrious
career, going along with his eight titles in Wimbledon, five at the U.S. Open
and one at the French Open.
Cilic had two chances to break Federer's serve in the first game
of the fifth set, but wasted them both with two unforced errors. The Croatian
player then double-faulted twice in the second game to drop his own serve,
giving Federer the decisive lead in the set.
The crowd at Rod Laver Arena loudly cheered him on as he neared
his 20th Grand Slam win, chanting his name between games and applauding Cilic's
errors.
At the age of 36 years, 173 days, Federer also becomes the
second-oldest man to win a Grand Slam title in the Open era after Ken Rosewall,
who won the 1972 Australian Open at 37.
Marin Cilic has leveled the
Australian Open final with Roger Federer at two sets apiece, sending the match
to a fifth-set decider.
Cilic broke Federer twice in the fourth set to capture the set
6-3. The defending champion's first-serve percentage plummeted in the set to 36
percent. He had been hitting more than 80 percent of his first serves in the
third set.
Still, Federer had his chances early on, going up an early break
after Cilic made a string of unforced errors to drop serve and fall behind 0-1.
The Swiss great, however, stumbled in the sixth game as Cilic went
up triple-break point on his serve and converted on his first chance to level
the score at 3-all.
Cilic then earned three more break points in the eighth game and
converted with a forehand winner crosscourt to take a 5-3 lead.
ESPN has reported that Simona
Halep was hospitalized overnight to receive treatment for dehydration following
her Australian Open final loss to Caroline Wozniacki on Saturday night.
During its broadcast of the men's final on Sunday, ESPN showed an
image of Halep in a hospital bed and said she'd spent time overnight receiving
treatment before being released later Sunday morning.
Top-seeded Halep spent almost 12 hours on court through her first
six rounds, and was forced to save match points in the third round and in her
semifinal win over Angelique Kerber.
The final was played in hot, muggy conditions with temperatures
above 30 degrees Celsius (86 Fahrenheit) and humidity around 60 percent at the
start of the match. During the 2 hours, 49 minute match, Halep had her blood
pressure and pulse taken by a trainer after complaining of feeling dizzy.
Wozniacki claimed her first major title in a 7-6 (2), 3-6, 6-4 win
and also replaced Halep atop the rankings.
Halep had injuries during the tournament, badly twisting her left
ankle in the first round and complaining of a sore right foot in the final.
Roger Federer has come back to take
the third set against Marin Cilic 6-3.
The two players were on serve until the sixth game when Cilic made
a couple unforced errors to give Federer triple break point. The defending
champion then converted after Cilic hit a forehand wide, taking a 4-2 lead.
Federer served out the set at love in the ninth game, hitting an
ace on set point. Cilic wasn't able to pressure the Federer serve in the set
and didn't earn any break points.
Cilic continues to struggle with his first serve, only making
slightly more than half of them in the match.
Marin Cilic has won the second set in
a tiebreaker to level the Australian Open final against Roger Federer at one
set apiece.
Federer won the first set 6-2 in 24 minutes, but Cilic rallied in
the second to take it 7-6 (5).
Federer, who hadn't dropped a set in the tournament, served
consecutive double-faults to give Cilic a set point in the 10th game, but
managed to hold for 5-5.
In the tiebreaker, Cilic earned two more set points with a big
service return followed by a forehand winner down the line. Federer saved one
with an ace, but Cilic put away on overhead to finish it off in an hour.
Defending champion Roger Federer
started with high intensity in the Australian Open final against Marin Cilic,
racing to a 4-0 lead before clinching the first set 6-2.No. 2-seeded Federer,
who is aiming for a 20th Grand Slam singles title, got service breaks in the
first and third games of the match. A clearly rattled Cilic changed rackets in
the third game, hoping to slow the momentum slightly.
The temperature around Melbourne Park neared 40 Celsius (104
Fahrenheit) during the late afternoon Sunday and was still above 37 C (99 F)
when play started in the final.
Federer beat 2014 U.S. Open champion Cilic in straight sets in the
Wimbledon final last year.
He lost only two points on his serve in the first set at Melbourne
Park, which was played under a closed roof because of the tournament's extreme
heat policy and lasted just 24 minutes.
The Australian Open men's final between Roger Federer and Marin
Cilic will be played under a closed roof after tournament organizers enforced
the heat policy.
The temperature around Melbourne Park neared 40 Celsius (104
Fahrenheit) during the late afternoon Sunday and was still above 37 C (99 F)
when play started in the final.
The mixed doubles final was also played under a closed roof at Rod
Laver Arena.
Croatia's Mate Pavic now has two Grand Slam titles within 24 hours
after winning the Australian Open mixed doubles.
Pavic and Canada's Gabriela Dabrowski combined to beat Rohan
Bopanna of India and Timea Babos of Hungary 2-6, 6-4, 11-9 under a closed roof
at Rod Laver Arena.
Pavic teamed with Austrian Oliver Marach to win the men's doubles
title on Saturday night in the match that followed the women's singles final.
It was the second career major for Dabrowski after she became the
first Canadian woman to win a Grand Slam title at last year's French Open, when
she combined with Bopanna to win the mixed doubles.
It was the first tournament together for Dabrowski and Pavic, and
they hadn't dropped a set on the way to the final.
Babos, who won the women's doubles title on Friday, and Bopana
were seemingly in control of the final which was played indoors after
organizers enforced the tournament's extreme heat policy as the temperature
neared 40 Celsius (104 Fahrenheit). But Pavic and Dabrowski recovered to level
the match in the second set and then raced to a 6-3 lead in the deciding
extended tiebreaker.
The momentum swung again when Bopanna and Babos won four
consecutive points to edge to a 7-6 lead, but Pavic and Dabrowski grabbed it
back to clinch the tiebreak 11-9.
Roger Federer will attempt to win his 20th Grand Slam singles
title when he plays Marin Cilic in the Australian Open final on Sunday night.
Federer, the defending champion at Melbourne Park, is also vying
for his sixth title here.
The Swiss star owns an 8-1 head-to-head record and defeated Cilic
in straight sets in last year's Wimbledon final, although Cilic was affected by
blisters in that match.
The mixed doubles final will open play Sunday at Rod Laver Arena.
Rohan Bopanna of India and Hungary's Timea Babos will play Gabriela Dabrowski
of Canada and Croatia's Mate Pavic.
On Saturday, Caroline Wozniacki won her first Grand Slam title and
took the No. 1 ranking from Simona Halep with a three-set win over the Romanian
player in the women's final.
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