Australian Open: Roger Federer beats Marin Čilić

Jan. 28 (UPI) -- Roger Federer beat Marin Čilić in five sets to win the 2018 Australian Open Sunday at Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne.

The victory gave Federer his 20th career Grand Slam, a record for men's tennis. Federer won the match 6-2, 6-7, 6-3, 3-6, 6-1.

"Of course, winning is an absolute dream come true," Federer said in his on-court speech while receiving the trophy. "The fairytale continues for me. After the great year I had last year. Of course, I'd like to thank Marin. Another great tournament. Congratulations on the world No. 3, that's a hell of an achievement. I wish you all the best. Keep doing what you're doing and you can achieve more."

"You guys, you fill stadiums, you make me nervous. You make me go out there and practice. I'd just like to thank you for everything. It wouldn't mean the same without you guys."

Federer, 36, turned pro in 1998. He has more than $111 million in career prize money, owns a 1,132-250 record and has 95 titles. Federer has six Australian Open titles.

"Feeling obviously a little bit disappointed, which is normal," Čilić said after the match. "It was a big battle, five sets. I managed to turn it around in that fourth set. It was a big boost for me, the game that I played. That lifted me a lot up and I started to play great tennis. I was hitting the ball great and I was playing phenomenal. The first game of the fifth set was more or less crucial at the end."

"I was putting a lot of pressure, four breakpoints, I went for my shots and didn't make them."

Caroline Wozniacki won the women's singles title on Saturday, beating Simona Halep in three sets in Melbourne for her first career Grand Slam title.