India's cricket maestro Sachin Tendulkar didn't shy to hail another legend Roger Federer, who recently won his 20th Grand Slam singles title after defeating Marin Cilic in the Australian Open final at the Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne, on Sunday. Sharing a video of the Swiss tennis icon, Sachin was appeared awestruck by one of his shots during the final.
"Grace, power and agility. No one in the world could play that shot. @rogerfederer #AustralianOpen2018 #AusOpen," Sachin wrote on Twitter, along with the video.
The 44-year-old, who scored 100 international centuries for India, was following the final clash with "excitement" since the beginning.
"Excited to watch @rogerfederer play the @AustralianOpen final. Hope he lifts the trophy. #AustralianOpen2018," he tweeted, hoping to see Federer claim his 20th grand slam.
Federer claimed his 20th Grand Slam singles title after he outclassed Cilic in a tense, back-and-forth Australian Open final 6-2, 6-7 (5), 6-3, 3-6, 6-1.
Earlier in the fourth set, Cilic leveled the game 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.
(With AP inputs)
