Next stop, Paris.

After falling dangerously far behind, world no. 1 Roger Federer steadied himself for a 5-7, 7-5, 6-0, 6-2 victory over Marcos Baghdatis yesterday at the Australian Open, capturing the first major of 2006 and setting his sights on the clay courts of the French Open, the most imposing obstacle on the road to a calendar-year Grand Slam.

The 24-year-old Federer wept uncontrollably after Rod Laver, the last man to win all four majors in a year, handed the Swiss champion his trophy. Federer is the only man to win his first seven Grand Slam singles finals, and now finds himself halfway to Pete Sampras’s record of 14 career majors.

So often we have heaped superlatives upon Federer as he has dazzled us, month after month, since the summer of 2003, when he won his first Wimbledon title. His strokes are nearly flawless, his feet remarkably nimble, his fitness and mental fortitude unparalleled. Yet this fortnight was hardly the effortless affair many expected when Rafael Nadal, Andre Agassi, and the defending champion, Marat Safin, withdrew with injuries prior to the tournament. For these two weeks, the often untouchable Federer was, by his standards, rather ordinary.

There were lots of errors, some bad decisions, and a few sets of tennis so precarious it was a wonder that the world’s most dominant player survived to see another final. In the fourth round, he wriggled his way out of a five-set struggle with Tommy Haas after blowing a two set lead, then nearly needed five sets against Nikolay Davydenko in the quarterfinals. And though it might seem that Federer took flight against Baghdatis yesterday after a slow start, it was Baghdatis who fell to earth, serving poorly down the stretch and losing his footwork and consistency as he tired and his calf muscle began to cramp. The cheerful 20-year-old from Cyprus began to think about winning instead of playing, about hoisting the first trophy in what promises to be a fine year rather than hugging the baseline and attacking Federer every chance he could. Federer, meanwhile, thought more of defense – of making Baghdatis work until an opening emerged.

As the two neared the end of the second set, it looked as if Federer might not engineer another escape.

Baghdatis, who won this title as a junior in 2003, was certainly the crowd favorite, having charmed the whole of Australia during his upsets of the second-seeded Andy Roddick, seventhseeded Ivan Ljubicic, and fourth-seeded David Nalbandian. He has a knack for disrupting his opponent’s rhythm with powerful and sharply angled service returns and a running, crosscourt forehand that explodes off his racket.

For the first two sets against Federer, Baghdatis took chances and dictated play. He won the first set after a service break in the eleventh game, then broke Federer immediately in the second set, taking a 2-0 lead.

But here Baghdatis missed a grand opportunity. Federer rarely plays from behind – he lost the first set eight times last year in 85 matches, and just four times in his previous eight Grand Slam events from 2004 to 2005 (he lost two of those four matches). Up a set and a break of serve, Baghdatis had a chance to extend his lead, and Federer chipped in with the ugliest shot of the evening.

At 30-30 on his serve, Federer ran Baghdatis off the court with a fine drop shot, but hit a lackadaisical forehand when Baghdatis flicked a desperate return, guiding the ball wide. It was a mistake to make a Country Club hacker despondent, followed by a missed first serve that gave Baghdatis a chance to pounce on another second ball (at this juncture, Baghdatis had won more than half of these points). Baghdatis took a fine cut and won control of the rally, but he let up a bit too soon, relieving some pressure from the scrambling Federer with a short, slow backhand crosscourt. The exchange, which lasted 17 strokes, ended when Federer fired a forehand winner down the line. Baghdatis earned another break point when Federer double-faulted, but could not convert.

Though Baghdatis gave up his advantage in the next game, he remained in good form for the rest of the set. Federer admitted afterward that Baghdatis had outplayed him in the second set and should have won it; the Cypriot’s last chance came at 5-5, when he took a 0-30 lead on Federer’s serve after winning a 20-stroke rally with a forehand winner down the line. Federer recovered, eventually holding with an ace and a service winner.

Poor serving helped spell the end of Baghdatis. He made 59% of his first serves in the first set, winning 17 of those 19 points. If he had been able to maintain this accuracy, he likely would have won the second set. As it was, he took a 40-0 lead at 5-6 before losing five consecutive points, all of them on second serves. When his last forehand sailed long – the chair umpire immediately, and correctly, overruled an initial call of good – Baghdatis was dejected and tired. As often happens to Federer’s opponents, he had played two sets of winning tennis and had one set to show for it.

Baghdatis’s play deteriorated from this point on. His first-serve percentage plummeted to 33% in the third set (he won three of 15 points on his serve). He had won 64% of points on his serve in the first two sets, in keeping with his average of 65% during his previous six matches. In sets three and four yesterday, though, he won 36%. In the first two sets, he made errors on 16% of the points played, 3% above his tournament average of 13%. In sets three and four, his error ratio increased to 27% and 20%.

How much of this was Federer’s doing? Undoubtedly, some of it was. The champion displayed uncanny nerve and also refined his tactics, more sharply angling his slice backhand returns, charging the net off second serves, and running around more backhands. But these adjustments were minor and did not offset what Federer did poorly.

For starters, he served terribly in this match – worse, in fact, than he had the entire tournament. In each of his previous six matches, his first-serve percentage had been 58% or better (and better than 60% in all but one) for an average of 61%, and he had won 69% of the points played on his serve. Against Baghdatis, he served only 54% on first serves (down by 7%) and won 62% of his service points (also down 7%). He double-faulted six times, against nine in his previous six matches. Federer was not his best in rallies either, ending 19% of points with errors, 3% worse than his tournament average.

“Looking back, I maybe never really played my best except the first two sets against Haas,” Federer said. “So it was a different type of Grand Slam victory, and I think that’s why it was so emotion al in the end for me.”

Different for him, but the same for everyone else. In more than 16 hours of tennis the past two weeks, three players gave Federer an exceedingly good push, but none could topple him. He has won his last three Grand Slam tournaments, a streak matched only by Sampras since Laver completed the second of his two Grand Slams in 1969.Stefan Edberg and Boris Becker, Federer’s two idols, are now behind him, each with six major titles to his seven. If he defies the odds and remains standing on clay this spring at Roland Garros, Laver might as well book his trip to the U.S.Open, where the trophy ceremony would be something special indeed.

tperrotta@nysun.com