MELBOURNE - Roger Federer's seemingly inevitable journey to tennis immortality continued last night when he conquered Cypriot sensation Marcos Baghdatis to win the Australian Open.
The masterful Swiss rebounded from a tentative and worrying start to end Baghdatis' fairytale run with a 5-7 7-5 6-0 6-2 victory in the men's
singles final at Melbourne Park.
The 24-year-old has now won all seven of his grand slam finals, the only man to do so in more than a century, and has passed fellow all-time greats Don Budge, Jack Crawford, Boris Becker and Stefan Edberg in his relentless pursuit of Pete Sampras' benchmark 14 majors.
Fittingly, Rod Laver -- widely considered the greatest player ever -- was in the front row inside the arena named in his honour to watch Federer in full flight as he took the first leg of the coveted grand slam.
Laver, 67, is the last of only five men to have lifted the trophy at all four slams in one year, having achieved the rare feat for a second time in 1969, and says he wouldn't bet against Federer completing his own sweep and also eclipsing Sampras' record.
Federer possessed every aspect a player needed said Laver who refused to place a limit on the 24-year-old's potential.
"His court coverage is uncanny ... he can do it all from behind the baseline, but if they slip up, he's in there.
"If his backhand's in good shape, he just rolls."
Laver said Federer's age "is not really an issue when you're looking at someone like Roger".
"He could be 31, 32 and be winning (titles) if the desire's there," he said.
Among a catalogue of precedents, Federer's latest success, following his Wimbledon and US Open triumphs last year, also makes him the first man since Sampras in 1994 to win three successive grand slam titles.
But it wasn't all one-way traffic against Baghdatis, the world No 54 who was audaciously striving to become the fourth-lowest-ranked player to win a slam.
In a showdown featuring two former world junior champions, the Cypriot smacked a huge forehand winner in the opening game to quickly show his esteemed rival he was anything but overawed - despite appearing in a major final in only his 38th match in the professional ranks.
While Baghdatis ran hot, Federer was showing plenty of chinks early, dropping serve in the fifth game of the match with three unforced errors on the spin.
Although Baghdatis handed the break straight back with a double-fault, the mistakes continued to flow from Federer's racquet as the Swiss struggled to find his usually impeccable Swiss timing.
He blasted another forehand long to hand a second break to the Cypriot, who didn't need a third invitation to convert his dominance into a one-set advantage.
Federer ended the first set with a netted backhand but worse was to follow for the world No 1.
A double-fault followed by yet another forehand miss gifted Baghdatis a break for a 1-0 lead in the second set and two games later he was staring down the barrel of a double break and, as such, a normally insurmountable deficit in a set.
Federer only had himself to blame, coughing up his third double-fault and committing an inexcusable error when he lazily half-volleyed wide of an open court with Baghdatis out of position.
But, as true champions do, he staved off the two break points and promptly broke Baghdatis the very next game when the Cypriot flayed a forehand long.
The recovery had begun and Baghdatis was to pay heavily for a mental lapse in the 12th game of the set.
From 40-love up on serve, the Open's 2003 junior champion lost five straight points to donate the set to Federer.
An overrule in Federer's favour - which replays confirmed to be correct - from French umpire Pascal Maria on set point may have unsettled Baghdatis, whose game dropped considerably as the world No.1's rose.
The Swiss wizard raced through the third set and continued his dominance in the fourth before Baghdatis - the only Cypriot ranked in the world's top 1000 - finally snapped an 11-game losing sequence, to everyone's relief.
Still, at 3-1 up, the best frontrunner in the business was not about to let this one slip and Federer prevailed after two hours and 46 minutes, in doing so extending his record winning streak on hard courts to 52 matches.
He last lost on the surface against Marat Safin in the semi-finals of the 2005 Australian Open and few are predicting his next defeat.
Both players were gracious in victory and defeat.
A highly emotional Federer was so choked up he could barely speak after Rod Laver presented him with the Norman Brookes Challenge Cup.
"What can I say, I'm ... I don't know what to say," Federer said, crying.
"I'd like to congratulate Marcos first. Well done."
Federer had to pause for about half a minute as the tears flowed.
"I hope you know how much this means to me," he said.
"I guess it's all coming out now. I've had some hard speeches but this one is really rough right now.
"I'd also like to congratulate Marcos' team - great effort - and of course my team.
"And then all the hundreds and thousands of fans who came out throughout the weeks. You make it special. Without you, it's not the same.
"The last and not least, I'd like to thank Rod Laver for the trophy."
Baghdatis, who has electrified Melbourne Park with his infectious personality throughout his spirited run to the final, sent kisses to everybody in Cyprus after claiming to have had the time of his life.
"I just woke up at the end and it's fantastic. It's been two great weeks, it's just a dream come true," the 20-year-old said.
"I'm in the final, I played the final, I lost, it's just amazing. Thank you all very much.
"I want to thank everybody for coming today - all the Cypriots, Greeks, everybody. I want to thank you very much.
"I want to thank my coach: Guillermo (Payre's) working with me since the US Open, it's been great and (in) some tough moments he was there for me. Thank you again very much."
Baghdatis, who left Limassol as a 14-year-old to pursue his sporting dream in France, will soar to 26 in the world when the new rankings are released tomorrow.
"Back in France, I hope you're watching guys. I want to say hi to the academy and all the players in there. They've been so supportive, we're a great team and I love you guys very much," he said.
"Now I want to go back home, Cyprus. I want to thank my parents. They were like amazing to me and all the sacrifices we did, they just paid up today.
"It's really amazing, I love you all very much, I love everybody in Cyprus who was watching today and I just don't know what to say.
"It's an amazing feeling, I hope you feel the same and I hope I see you in three days."
- AAP
Roger Federer of Switzerland holds the Australian Open mens singles championship trophy after defeating Marcos Baghdatis of Cyprus last night. Picture / Reuters
MELBOURNE - Roger Federer's seemingly inevitable journey to tennis immortality continued last night when he conquered Cypriot sensation Marcos Baghdatis to win the Australian Open.
The masterful Swiss rebounded from a tentative and worrying start to end Baghdatis' fairytale run with a 5-7 7-5 6-0 6-2 victory in the men's
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