Australian Open: Roger Federer beats Marin Cilic to win 20th grand slam title

Roger Federer beat Marin Cilic in Australian Open final to lift his 20th Grand Slam trophy on Sunday. 

World number two Federer defeated sixth seed Marin Cilic 6-2 6-7(5) 6-3 3-6 6-1 to win his sixth Australian Open title. 

Federer entered the Australian Open final for a record seventh time after his South Korean opponent Hyeon Chung retired hurt in the second set of their semi-final clash.

Cilic, 29, entered the finals after destroying Britain's Kyle Edmund's dream of playing a first Grand Slam final. He is the first Croat to reach an Australian Open final.

36-year-old Federer was gliding towards a 20th grand slam title when he took the opening set against a nervy opponent in 24 minutes.

For a while it looked horribly reminiscent of Cilic's heavy defeat by Federer in last year's Wimbledon final when the 29-year-old was hampered by blisters and broke down in tears.

But the sixth seed, playing in his first Australian Open final after knocking out injured world number Rafael Nadal in the quarters, showed great resolve.

He saved break points at 1-1, 2-2 and 4-4 in the second set before crunching some huge forehands in the tiebreaker to level the match against all the odds.

Federer won the third set with a single break of serve but from a position of strength in the fourth he began to fade and lost five games on the spin as an increasingly dangerous Cilic dragged a slow-burning final into a decider.

Defending champion Federer regrouped though and after fighting off a break point at the start of the fifth, Cilic's resistance crumbled as the crowd roared Federer on to victory.

"I'm so happy, it's unbelievable, it's been a long day," Federer said. "I'm happy it's over now. The fairytale continues for us, for me, it's incredible," said an emotional Federer as he cradled the Norman Brookes trophy.

(With Reuters inputs)