He and De Minaur traded blows with long baseline exchanges early in the encounter, including an absorbing 39-shot rally when Federer led 2-1, before the Swiss stepped up a gear to break De Minaur twice and take the opening set.

Federer was ruthless on his serve and retained his momentum and intensity in the second set, moving into a 3-0 lead after winning five games in a row before De Minaur held serve.

De Minaur's rare success only delayed the inevitable as Federer set up match point and then forced the 20-year-old to fire a forehand wide as the crowd rose to their feet to salute the 20-times grand slam champion.

Reuters