Marin Cilic not out for revenge as he aims to prevent Roger Federer from making history at the Australian Open

Having beaten a player in his latest Grand Slam semi-final who was forced to retire with blisters, Roger Federer will now prepare for a rematch with an opponent who had exactly the same problem in his last Grand Slam final.

Hyeon Chung could barely walk after having to quit in the second set of his Australian Open semi-final against Federer here on Friday, while Marin Cilic, who will take on the 36-year-old Swiss in Sunday’s final, was reduced to tears by his struggles with a painful blister in last year’s Wimbledon final.

At least Cilic should go into his third Grand Slam final in full health. “Having two days off and not having had a brutal semi-final will help him a lot,” Federer said. “We’ll see a fresh and ready Marin this time around.”

Cilic will not be looking for revenge for his straight-sets defeat in the Wimbledon final. “Those things happen,” he said, looking back on his painful experience at the All England Club.

“That’s sport in a way. For me it’s great to be in the final again, giving myself another opportunity to win a Grand Slam. I’m playing very good tennis and definitely very excited for the rest of 2018.”

Federer, whose continuing fitness is astonishing for a player with so many miles on the clock, will be the oldest finalist at a Grand Slam tournament since 39-year-old Ken Rosewall was runner-up at the 1974 US Open.

His seventh Australian Open final will be an open era record for the event. It will be his 30th final in all Grand Slam tournaments, extending a record which he already held, and it will be the sixth time he has gone into a Grand Slam final having not dropped a set.

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In nine meetings with Cilic, Federer has lost only once, in the semi-finals of the 2014 US Open, when the Croatian won his only Grand Slam title. Having crushed Cilic in the Wimbledon final last summer, Federer went on to beat him again in the ATP Finals at the O2 Arena in London in November. The two men also practised together last month when they found out, quite by accident, that they were holidaying together in the Maldives.

“It was just the two of us and we were both looking for a hitting partner and it happened that we were there,” Federer said. “He was eager to hit because it’s good to stay in the rhythm for both of us.

“We also met up later for drinks, met his fiancée. We had cake together, my whole family and him. We had a good time. It’s not like we were hanging out all the time, but our paths crossed a few times. We actually went to practise twice for 45 minutes.

“It was great fun. No coaches, no nothing, just the two of us on the court hitting balls. It was just nice and laid-back. To get to know the man behind the tennis player, I guess.”

Federer thought that winning the US Open four years ago had given Cilic great self-belief. “I like his attitude,” Federer said. “He’s very professional. He’s always very much the same, regardless of whether he wins or loses. I like that attitude. On the court, he’s a winner.

“You can see it in the way he behaves on the court. He’s there to win and not just to be there. Sometimes you see other players and you feel like they’re happy to have made the quarters. I think he strives for more. I like those attitudes.”

Cilic thinks he is playing more consistently now than he ever has. “I think I am performing better when you look at match after match,” he said.

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The world No 6 said that he had played “amazing tennis” when he won the US Open four years ago but added: “It was more difficult for me to keep it up for a long period of time. Now I feel that with this kind of tennis I can keep it throughout the season. That’s my goal – to look back at the end of the year and be happy my performances were on a consistent level.”

Federer was asked if there was any part of his game that he would have to improve in the final. “I just have to play a good match,” he said. “At this point it’s not about having to improve anything in particular. I think I’ve done everything pretty well.

“I just hope I’m going to have a good start to the match. I hope I can mix up my game. I hope I can start serving well from the get-go, not get into too much trouble early. I hope I can read his serve and all these things.

“I’m just pleased that my game has actually been good from the very beginning of the tournament so far. I’ve won all my matches without dropping a set. Clearly I was a bit lucky against [Tomas] Berdych in the first set, but things must be all right if I’m at this stage right now not having dropped a set.”

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Federer said that winning a 20th Grand Slam title on Sunday would be “20 times special”. He added: “It would be amazing. I can't believe how fast now the week has turned out to be. It ain’t just an easy trip to the final.

“There’s always a lot of work that goes into it during the tournament, focus, and also preparation beforehand. For many weeks and months before, you try to put yourself in the position: are you going to be ready if you’re in a good semi-finals or quarter-finals match at the Australian Open?

“This is something you plan from a long time ago. That’s why when it does happen, it’s a great feeling. It rewards the hard work in my team. It shows us that we did a lot of things right in the off-season as well.

“That always gives you confidence, especially moving into the semis and finals when you’re starting to hit the ball very nicely after the first few matches where it’s always a bit more difficult.”