Marin Cilic fought bravely against Roger Federer but ultimately his slow start proved costly

IN THE blink of an eye Roger Federer had won the first set over Marin Cilic in the men’s final and despite the No.6 seed fighting back it was ultimately that slow start that cost him dearly as Federer reigned supreme once more.

Marin Cilic’s night got off to a rough start before he finally found form in the second set.

“Wakey wakey”

The call from the not-so-cheap seats inside Rod Laver Arena on Sunday night was pointed, but on point.

It was the third game of the opening set and renowned power server Marin Cilic was about to be broken on serve for the second time in the men’s singles final.

REPORT: FEDERER WAS A LEGEND, NOW HE’S AN IMMORTAL

AS IT HAPPENED: FEDERER CLAIMS HISTORIC 20TH SLAM TITLE

BEST PICS: THE AGONY AND ECSTASY OF THE 2018 AUSTRALIAN OPEN

Before long, opponent Roger Federer had the first set in the bag 6-2 and, in doing so, seemingly had one hand on a sixth Australian Open trophy.

The feeling entering the match was rank outsider Cilic needed a good start if he was to be any chance of causing an upset.

What transpired was quite the opposite.

Marin Cilic’s night got off to a rough start before he finally found form in the second set.

The towering Croatian started like a car in the wrong gear, sluggish to take off and shaky as nerves appeared to bring uncharacteristic mistakes and unforced errors flowed.

For much of the middle three sets, Cilic morphed into a Ferarri in full flight as his serving game got going, his ground strokes returned to their best and he began to take the upper hand in the mental battle with Federer.

But in the final set, Cilic ran out of fuel.

CHAMPION: WOZNIACKI MALIGNED AND MOCKED NO MORE

ANALYSIS: THE GREATEST WOMEN’S FINAL WE’VE EVER SEEN

RUNNER UP: SIMONA HALEP DISAPPOINTED BUT NOT GIVING UP

WOMEN’S FINAL: HALEP REPORTEDLY ADMITTED TO HOSPITAL AFTER LOSS

LOOKING BACK: THE BIGGEST BLOW UPS, FEUDS AND FINES OF THE AUS OPEN

AWKWARD: WEIRDEST MEDIA MOMENTS FROM THE AUS OPEN

Being asleep at the wheel to start the clash came back to bite and the eventual crash was a nasty one as Federer collected a 20th grand slam trophy.

The match lasted 3hrs 3min and, while Cilic had enjoyed an extra day’s break before it, the fifth set was always going to be a battle.

In his journey to the final, Cilic had spent a total of 17hrs 3min on court, while Federer had clocked a mere 10hrs 50min.

Marin Cilic and Roger Federer are still friends after their five-set battle.

The difference was telling.

Regardless of the result, it was a step forward for Cilic both against Federer and at Melbourne Park.

Cilic had fallen to Federer in straight sets in the previous two matches between the pair.

He had also never reached an Australian Open final.

In fact, the 2014 US Open champion had only once progressed past the fourth round in nine previous trips to the Australian grand slam.

Making the final also proved a step forward in the rankings, Cilic climbing to world No.3 after entering the tournament as the sixth seed.

Speaking post-match, Cilic described his path to the final as “an amazing journey” and he hoped to “reach many grand slam finals” in the future.

With age on his side, that looks a likely proposition.