Tearful Roger Federer delighted with his prolonged fairytale

There appears to be no end in sight to the Roger Federer fairytale as he added a 20th Grand Slam title to his collection on Sunday.

The 36-year-old needed five sets to beat Marin Cilic on Rod Laver Arena to secure his sixth Australian Open trophy.

He won his first Grand Slam back in 2003 when he beat Mark Philippoussis in the Wimbledon final, and now nearly 15 years later he has 20 to his name.

The last two years have perhaps been the sweetest of his career as he appeared to be headed for retirement after going major-less between 2013 and 2016, but he hit back with the 2017 Australian Open and Wimbledon titles before successfully defending his trophy Down Under this year.

The Swiss Maestro was naturally happy with his achievement during the post-match interview.

“I’m so happy. It is a long day. You are waiting all day. You think about the match all day. Winning is a dream come true, the fairytale continues for us,” he said.

“Marin, keep doing what you are doing. I wish you all the best. You will achieve more.

“We arrived in Perth last year and are still here! Thanks to everyone here for making it so special. You have some of the best volunteers in the world, I realised that at the Sydney 2012 Olympics.

“It’s great to see Rocket Rod Laver again, and thanks also to Ashley Cooper and the other legends.

“You guys [fans] fill the stadiums and you make me nervous! Thanks for everything. To my team, I love you guys.”

And then he broke down.

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