MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) - The Latest on Sunday from the Australian Open (all times local):
11:05 p.m.
Roger Federer was overcome with emotion as he concluded his remarks to the Rod Laver Arena crowd following his Australian Open victory over Marin Cilic.
The 20-time major winner had difficulty finishing his speech, tearing up as he thanked his team and then starting to cry as the crowd gave him a lengthy standing ovation. Federer then blew kisses to the crowd as the Australian tennis great Rod Laver marked the moment by taking a photo with his mobile phone in the stands.
After Federer posed for photos with the trophy, he walked over to his wife Mirka in the stands and grabbed her hand while she blew him a kiss.
Federer said winning the title was “absolutely a dream come true.” He says, “The fairytale continues for us, for me, after the great year I had last year, it’s incredible.”
____
10:40 p.m.
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.
___
10:10 p.m.
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.
___
9:45 p.m.
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.
____
9:30 p.m.
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.
___
9 p.m.
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.
____
8 p.m.
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.
____
7:30 p.m.
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.
___
5:40 p.m.
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.
___
4:05 p.m.
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.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.