Federer is oldest Grand Slam finalist in 43 years

Roger Federer defeated compatriot Stan Wawrinka in a thrilling five-setter in the semifinals.

Published : Jan 26, 2017 17:18 IST , Melbourne

Roger Federer is congratulated by Stan Wawrinka after the semifinal.
Roger Federer is congratulated by Stan Wawrinka after the semifinal.
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Roger Federer is congratulated by Stan Wawrinka after the semifinal.

Roger Federer prevailed in a five-set thriller against his fellow Swiss and close friend Stan Wawrinka at the Australian Open on Thursday to become the oldest Grand Slam finalist in 43 years.

The 17-time Grand Slam champion saw off the World No. 4 Wawrinka 7-5, 6-3, 1-6, 4-6, 6-3 in three hours and five minutes and will face either Rafael Nadal or Grigor Dimitrov in Sunday's final.

It will be the 35-year-old Federer's sixth Australian final and 28th Grand Slam decider in total, and caps a marvellous comeback after the second half of last season was ruined by a knee injury.

The four-time Australian Open champion becomes the oldest man to reach a Grand Slam final since Australia's Ken Rosewall (39 years 310 days) at the 1974 U.S. Open.

Read: >Federer excited by 'unreal' potential Nadal final

In an enthralling contest, Federer won the opening two sets before Wawrinka clawed back to take the semi-final into a fifth, only for Federer to prevail with a service break in the sixth game.

"Yes, it is real now. I can talk about playing in finals for the first time," Federer said on court.

"I have been dodging that bullet for the last few days now talking about the next round and the next round but this is the last one. So I will leave it all out here in Australia and (even) if I cannot walk for another five months, I will give it all I have."

Read: >Federer says timeouts 'more mental than anything'

Wawrinka, who beat Nadal in the 2014 Australian Open final, was bidding to reach his fourth Grand Slam final and his second in Melbourne.

Racquet smash

The two Swiss players jockeyed in the opening games with Federer having three break points in Wawrinka's second service game and Wawrinka getting two break points, but all were saved.

Wawrinka had another break point saved in the 11th game but he paid for a netted forehand in his next service game to drop the opening set in 50 minutes.

Wawrinka netted a backhand on break point in the sixth game of the second set and angrily smashed his racquet in reaction, receiving a code violation warning from the chair umpire.

The match turned quickly for Wawrinka as Federer raced to a two sets lead after holding three set points.

Read: > Wawrinka consoles himself in defeat to "greatest ever" Federer

Wawrinka left the court for a medical timeout and returned to the court with tape around his right knee. But Wawrinka hit back with two breaks to take the third set in just 26 minutes as Federer became loose, giving his Swiss friend the chance to play his way back into the contest.

Wawrinka broke again in the opening game of the fourth set with a beautiful backhand return winner, but Federer broke straight back.

Wawrinka earned three break points in the ninth game with some splendid groundstrokes and on his third break point he rifled a forehand cross-court winner to break, and then served out to take the match into the fifth set.

But Wawrinka cracked with a poor service game and a double-fault on double break point gave Federer a crucial 4-2 advantage. Federer held his two remaining service games to win on the first of his three match points.

STATISTICAL BREAKDOWN

Federer [17] bt Wawrinka [4] 7-5, 6-3, 1-6, 4-6, 6-3

WINNERS/UNFORCED ERRORS
Federer - 47/50
Wawrinka - 45/35

ACES
Federer - 11
Wawrinka - 10

BREAK POINTS WON
Federer - 4/9
Wawrinka - 4/12

FIRST SERVE PERCENTAGE
Federer - 60
Wawrinka - 66

PERCENTAGE OF POINTS WON ON FIRST/SECOND SERVE
Federer - 72/58
Wawrinka - 63/70

TOTAL POINTS
Federer - 142
Wawrinka - 136

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