Roger Federer has fended off every challenge thrown at him in the Australian Open to reach his seventh final in Melbourne.

While seeds have tumbled out of the tournament one by one, the world number two has gone about his business in supreme fashion, and now just Marin Cilic stands between Federer and yet another Grand Slam title.

For four years, it appeared he would finish his career on an unprecedented 17 Grand Slams, but after winning the Australian Open and Wimbledon in 2017, the Swiss is now on the verge of making that 20.

At 36, he is defying both age and the younger generation coming through, setting a lofty benchmark of longevity, while showing the rest what it takes to outlast the competition, time and time again.

But how has he continued to do so at Melbourne Park? We break down the key stats which helped him secure a spot in Sunday’s final, and see how previous encounters with Cilic can enlighten us on how the match could pan out.

High risk-high reward

Federer’s unforced errors count is high, abnormally so, but he has offset that fact by hitting more winners in each game he has played so far.

R1: Federer v Bedene – Winners (41-21), Unforced errors (32-25)
R2: Federer v Struff – Winners (36-35), Unforced errors (22-30)
R3: Federer v Gasquet – Winners (42-27), Unforced errors (30-16)
R4: Federer v Fucsovics – Winners (34-23), Unforced errors (28-37)
QF: Federer v Berdych – Winners (61-22), Unforced errors (30-19)
SF: Federer v Chung - Winners (24-6), Unforced errors (16-17)* match shortened due to Chung's retirement

In his six matches leading up to the final, a run in which he has not dropped a single set, only Jan Lennard Struff, Hyeon Chung and Marton Fucsovics hit more unforced errors in their encounters with Federer.

Crucially, Federer outscored them all when it came to winners. This has outlined his new-found aggression, brought through a desire to finish points off quickly. So long as the winners count outnumbers the unforced errors, then Federer knows he has a strong chance of finishing off opponents.

3-0 in tie-breaks

Federer has the greatest tie-break record in the history of the men’s game, winning 65% of sets which have gone the distance, putting him ahead of Arthur Ashe (64.9%), Novak Djokovic (63.7%) and Andy Murray (63.2%).

When it matters most, Federer has found the tools to raise his game, and he has done exactly that at the Australian Open so far, winning three tie-breaks and losing none.

Three does not come across as a standout number, but zero certainly does. It proves that Federer has a strangle-hold over his opponent before the tie-break has even begun.

Nowhere was this more telling than in the quarter-final against Tomas Berdych, where not only did Federer fight back from 5-2 down in the opening set, but he went on to take the tie-break 7-1.

In a sport where momentum is key, Federer has found a way to prevent his opponents from building up a head of steam. One-set down to Berdych, and perhaps we wouldn’t be talking about another final for the Swiss.

Facing up to Cilic

In Cilic lies a familiar rival for Federer. The duo met in last year’s Wimbledon final, but it proved to be a non-event as Federer dismissed an ailing and emotional Cilic in three sets.

The Croatian will have revenge on his mind, but knows the odds will be stacked against him when taking a player he has lost to eight times, and beaten just once.

It will be that one victory which Cilic will look to channel on Sunday, and it came in straight sets in the 2014 US Open semi-final – a match which he out-aced, out-returned and simply out-played Federer.

Cilic went on to win his first and only Grand Slam to date, and while that is now four years ago, he must focus on the positives if he is to overcome the obstacle that is Federer.

Their tie-break history also makes for interesting reading, with Cilic edging it 3-2, proving that perhaps Federer isn’t so flawless after all.

However, while the thought of even taking Federer to a tie-break seems a daunting prospect, the idea of Cilic breaking him seems even more improbable.

In their past five meetings (since 2014), Cilic has broken Federer five times, with four coming in that US Open meeting alone. Federer has returned the albeit unwelcome favour 12 times in those five matches, and created far more opportunities to break in the process.

The authorities at Melbourne will be hoping for a much closer contest than last year’s Wimbledon final, but it’s on Cilic to make that happen. If he can produce the same tennis as he did in the quarter-final against Rafael Nadal, then anything is possible.

However, beware the man chasing down Grand Slam No 20. History is in Federer’s favour, and he will be determined to reach that landmark come Sunday, at any cost.