MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) \u2014 Roger Federer and Marin Cilic found themselves on vacation in the Maldives at the same time back in November and tried to give each other space for a couple days, given\u2026<\/b>
\nMELBOURNE, Australia (AP) \u2014 Roger Federer and Marin Cilic found themselves on vacation in the Maldives at the same time back in November and tried to give each other space for a couple days, given it was at the tail-end of a long tennis season and both needed to decompress.
Then Cilic got in touch with Federer and asked if he wanted to practice.
\u201cNo coaches, no nothing, just the two of us on the court hitting balls. It was just nice and laidback,\u201d Federer said. \u201cTo get to know the man behind the tennis player, I guess.\u201d
Fast-forward a couple of months and the two players will be on opposite sides of the net again, facing each other in the final of the Australian Open with far more at stake \u2014 Federer will be trying to add to his record Grand Slam haul with a 20th title, while Cilic is bidding for his second.
Federer joked that maybe it wasn\u2019t coincidence both of them were playing so well at the first major of the new year. \u201cI told (Cilic) the practice in the tropics helped us get to the finals,\u201d the 36-year-old Swiss star said with a laugh after his semifinal win over Hyeon Chung on Friday night.
Federer, of course, has been in this position many times before, with or without off-season hitting in paradise. He\u2019ll be appearing in his seventh final at the Australian Open and he has a fairly decent record at this stage of the tournament \u2014 five trophies, one silver runner-up plate (when he lost to Rafael Nadal in 2009).
He\u2019s also coming into Sunday\u2019s match with a huge amount of confidence after ending his 4\u00bd-year Grand Slam title drought on the same court at Melbourne Park last year \u2014 a victory that set in motion his best season since 2009 with a record eighth title at Wimbledon and a No. 2 ranking to finish the year.
Adding to his favorite status is the fact that Federer owns an 8-1 head-to-head record against the Croatian player and handily defeated him in last year\u2019s Wimbledon final, though Cilic was hobbled by blisters in that match.
Federer has looked extremely sharp in Melbourne this year, as well \u2014 he\u2019s yet to drop a set in six matches.
But he isn\u2019t looking past Cilic in the final, not by a longshot. He remembers his sole loss to Cilic all too well, a straight-sets defeat at the 2014 U. S. Open. \u201cHe crushed me in that semifinal,\u201d Federer said. \u201cHe beat me badly.\u201d
Cilic went on to win the U. S. title that year \u2014 his only Grand Slam trophy.
\u201cI definitely think him winning the U. S. Open, like Stan (Wawrinka) winning here a few years ago, it gave them great belief they can do it. If the big moments come about, that they can attain this level,\u201d he said.
\u201cYou can see it in the way he behaves on the court. He\u2019s there to win. Sometimes you see other players you feel like they\u2019re happy to have made the quarters. I think he strives for more. I like those attitudes.\u201d
Cilic is certainly keen to show he belongs in the upper echelon of men\u2019s tennis alongside the so-called Big Four of Federer, Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray. He\u2019s had considerable trouble beating the Big Four throughout his career, sporting a meager 7-39 record against them combined.
But Cilic does have a victory over Nadal in the quarterfinals of this year\u2019s Australian Open when the top-ranked Spaniard retired in the fifth set with a leg injury.
And he believes he\u2019s playing better than he was at last year\u2019s Wimbledon.
\u201cI\u2019m playing much, much more aggressive,\u201d Cilic said. \u201cI\u2019m feeling that I am, for most of the shots, hitting them really, really good. From the return, moving, forehand, backhand, serving, I think everything is in good, solid spot.\u201d
Beating Federer would also make up for the disappointment of not being able to compete at his top form in the Wimbledon final, though Cilic isn\u2019t necessarily looking for redemption.
\u201cIt was on me that I couldn\u2019t give my best in Wimbledon. And that happens,\u201d he said. \u201cFor me, it\u2019s great to again be in the final, giving myself another opportunity to win a Grand Slam.\u201d
Copyright \u00a9 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.
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