The top-ranked Roger Federer fulfilled vast expectations by beating unlikely finalist Marcos Baghdatis 5-7, 7-5, 6-0, 6-2 in Sunday's final. This led to his seventh Grand Slam tournament title and third in succession.
Emotion took over who always seems in control on the court while accepting the Australian Open Championship trophy from legend Rod Laver, who received a tearful embracement from the champion. Federer wept and was stuck for words at the award presentation.
At 24 Pete Sampras won his seventh, so we could say Federer at the same age is halfway to Sampras' record of 14 tennis Grand Slam titles. He is also the first man since Sampras to win three consecutive tennis majors.
An 11-game winning streak from 5-5 in the second set eased Federer's nerves for being a favorite against Baghdatis and took the match away, who said his problems started when he began to think a massive upset was within reach.
Baghdatis' raucous fans, who grew in number as he ousted second-seeded Andy Roddick of the United States, No. 4 David Nalbandian of Argentina and two other seeded players in the tournament, chanted between points.
Dressed as if for a soccer match, they waved flags, cheered and whistled to the end.