Roger Federer and Marin Cilic were both surprised the roof over Rod Laver Arena was closed for the Australian Open men's final.
Neither finalist had input into the tournament's decision to close the roof a night after the women's final was staged with the roof open.
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"No, they didn't ask me. They just came to me to tell me that they are thinking about decision, and they going to make the final decision just around 7 p.m., just slightly before the match," Cilic told the media after Federer's five-set victory in the final. "I didn't mind to have roof closed, but it was a huge difference in temperature from having outside 38, then when you came in, it was like 23, 4, I don't know. It was way cooler than I expected."
While there was speculation the closed roof favored Federer, who owns an .807 career winning percentage indoors, the 36-year-old Swiss said he was ready for any conditions.
"I wasn't sure if it was good for me or not, to play under the roof or not," Federer said. "Of course, I backed myself in sort of indoor conditions. This is where my first success ever came. I do think back that usually when I play indoors, it's good for me.
"But I didn't mind the heat, to be honest. I thought maybe for a bigger guy like Marin, maybe it's also going to slow him down faster throughout the match. At the end, it's not my decision. They kept me posted along the way.
"I was surprised to hear they had the heat rule in place for a night match. I never heard that before. When I arrived to the courts, I was totally ready to play outdoors. They told me they were thinking -- they think it will probably be indoor. Then they kept me posted along the way.
"Half an hour before, we got the word that it's going to be indoors. For me, it doesn't change anything in the preparation, to be honest. I was ready for either."
Photo credit: Mark Peterson/Corleve