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'I would have been happy to accept a draw and share it with Rafa'

Roger Federer has capped off his incredible return to tennis by winning his fifth Australian Open crown and 18th career grand slam title.

The Swiss Maestro outlasted great friend and rival Rafael Nadal in a riveting, rollercoaster final on Sunday night, winning 6-4, 3-6, 6-1, 3-6, 6-3 in the ninth meeting between the pair in a grand slam decider.

THE GREATEST: Federer's incredible career record

INCREDIBLE: Nadal and the best runners up speech ever

Federer was on the brink of defeat down a break in the fifth set, but managed to break back twice and hold his nerve to serve it out.

That look. Image: Getty

Pulling four clear of Nadal and Pete Sampras on the all-time grand slam title leaderboard, Federer's most improbable revival emphatically confirms his status as the sport's greatest modern-day player.

It's just the third time Federer has been able to get Nadal's measure in the final of a slam, and only the 12th time he's beaten the Spaniard in 35 meetings during their storied careers.

"I don't think we both - either one of us - believed we would be in the finals in Australia when we saw each other at your academy sort of four, five months ago," Federer said after the match.

"Here we stand in the finals. I'm happy for you. I would have been happy to lose too, to be honest. A comeback was perfect as it was.

"Tennis is a tough sport. There's no draws but, if there was going to be one, I would have been very happy to accept a draw tonight and share it with Rafa, really."

Defying Father Time and Nadal's decade-long dominance of one of sport's most enduring rivalries, Federer's victory broke his five-year major title drought.

Turning 36 in August, Federer is the oldest man to land a slam since Ken Rosewall won the 1972 Australian Open at 37.

His seven-year wait between his fourth and fifth Melbourne Park successes was also the longest in almost half a century of open-era tennis.

It was the Swiss Maestro's first tournament back since breaking down at Wimbledon last July with a recurrence of a knee injury he required surgery for five months earlier.

Contesting his milestone 100th Open match and record 28th grand slam final, Federer had struck the first blow, breaking Nadal in the seventh game with some aggressive net play and a pair of devastating backhand winners.

Dropping just four points all set, Federer clinched the opener with his fourth ace for a confident love hold.

Typically, Nadal hit straight back.

Raising his game and cashing in on some nervy errors from Federer, the Spaniard stormed to a 4-0 lead before drawing level at a set apiece.

But, despite conceding five years in the match-up and carrying the psychological wounds of 23 previous defeats to his Spanish nemesis, Federer refused to fold.

Friends and foes. Image: Getty

The superstar Swiss surged through the third set, only for Nadal - not for the first time - to rally to force the decider as Federer's ageing body began to fatigue.

Federer required a medical time-out for treatment for an upper leg issue he'd complained about during his five-set semi-final win over countryman Stan Wawrinka.

The writing appeared on the wall when he dropped serve in the opening game of the fifth set.

But after vowing "to leave it all out there" in the final, Federer did just that, roaring back to break Nadal in the sixth game, then again in the eighth before serving out the epic in dramatic fashion.

Federer's forehand on his second match point was called out but, after enduring a torturous 15-second wait, his successful challenge was met with a rousing standing ovation inside Rod Laver Arena.