When the laboured backhand from Marcos Baghdatis cannoned into the middle of the net on Rod Laver Arena, world No.1 Roger Federer catapulted his arms skyward and gave an uncharacteristic yelp of joy.

And, then you thought he was going to cry.

He wearily leaned on the net, tore off his lime green headband, looked at his box, congratulated his vanquished opponent and walked back to his chair.

And you thought, for a just a split second, he was going to cry.

But it was when someone asked him to say something that he did. He cried.

His presentation speech will be remembered for what he didn't say - or rather couldn't say in front of those fans at Melbourne Park and millions around the world.

He was unable to get his words out. He was crying and emotional after his 5-7 7-5 6-0 6-2 win.

"I hope you know how much this means to me …" he said while juggling tears with the hefty-sized Norman Brookes Challenge Cup.

He revealed afterwards in his media conference that they were tears of relief rather than joy.

He reflected on the moment in the match when Baghdatis, who had dominated earlier with an imposing aggressive game, was beginning to falter physically.

The 20-year-old stumbled in the fifth game of the final set with cramp and required medical attention at the change-of-ends with the score looking ominous at 4-1 in Federer's favour.

"I think after seeing, he was struggling all of a sudden with the cramp on his calf muscle, I knew I was in very good shape, but I had to stay focused," Federer explained.

"So many things go through your head about the win already because you think, 'Well, now nothing can go wrong'."

"But as we saw, it was still quite a long way to the finish line. I was getting I think emotionally ready for that sort of, which normally you shouldn't, but I can't block it out. I'm also just human."

"And I guess, when I won, I was so relieved that I got through it. I wasn't emotional in the first minute, except the relief."

"It only came out later when I was standing there with Marcos waiting for the ceremony. I was very relaxed. Once I got up on stage, it all changed."

The growing sense of his role in the history of tennis is not lost on the Swiss right-hander.

He was presented the champion's trophy by Rod Laver, the only man to win the Grand Slam twice, in the stadium named in his honour.

Winner of 11 Grand Slam titles, Laver is also the last man to win all four majors - back in 1969. Federer spoke to Laver for the first time last Thursday when he was introduced to the US-based Australian by coach Tony Roche.

Federer's 2006 Australian Open inches him closer to the record of Pete Sampras who won eight Grand Slam finals contested from Wimbledon 1995 until 2000 - 1995 Wimbledon, 1995 and '96 US Opens, 1997 Australian Open, and 1997, 98, 99 and 2000 Wimbledon crowns.

On Sunday night he equalled Sampras' record of three consecutive Grand Slams.

Sampras won the Wimbledon and US Open trophies in 1993 and the Australian Open in 1994.

The triumphant gaze towards his box after the final also had emotional as well as historical significance. The family of his former coach and friend, Australian Peter Carter, was watching from the stands.

Carter, who had assisted Federer throughout his junior career and his first Grand Slam breakthrough at Wimbledon in 2003, was tragically killed in a car accident in the same year.

"It's always very emotional, you know, winning here, because of Peter, then Tony (Roche)," he said.

"It's very nice to share the moment with them, you know, obviously. So I think it means a, lot to them, too. Very happy that they still enjoy watching tennis after how much he was into tennis, too."

"They could just walk away from the game and say, 'Look, we'd rather not face it anymore', you know, because of how much he loved the sport. But I'm happy they come out and they really, really support me. It's very nice."

It is only on the rarest of occasions that we are privileged to witness the game's most consummate and complete player reveal his human side.

Miniscule cracks began to appear through the cool and calm exterior in the second week of the Open, particularly during his fourth round five-set contest against unseeded Tommy Haas and No.5 Nikolay Davydenko in the quarter-finals.

Federer was clearly under pressure, but he constantly re-assured us that things about him and his game - were normal. He told us it was hard to win Grand Slams, and not to put too higher expectations on his supposed infallibility. Stop saying I'm infallible …

"I thought I played great from the first round on till third set against Haas. From then on, it was a bit of a struggle," he said.

"I think if I could have closed out Haas maybe earlier, the whole tournament would have been much more of a great run if I would have ended up winning the tournament."

"But that made me struggle to maybe lose two sets in a row. Looking back, I maybe never really played my best except the first two sets against Haas. After that, it was kind of gone for a while."

"It was hard, you know. I really had to battle. I was physically a little tired after a tough couple of matches there. I was happy the way I bounced back against (Nicolas) Kiefer and also for the finals today."

"So it was a different type of Grand Slam victory, and I think that's why it was so emotional in the end for me."