Australian Open 2018 Schedule: Friday Replay TV Coverage, Live-Stream Guide

Roger Federer earned his chance to defend his Australian Open title in the 2018 final as he downed South Korea's Hyeon Chung in their semi-final on Friday.

The South Korean had to retire due to injury when trailing 6-1, 5-2, two games after taking a medical timeout for treatment on a blister. 

The Swiss superstar will face Marin Cilic in Sunday's showpiece on Rod Laver Arena, and he will be the strong favourite having not dropped a set the entire tournament.

His performance against Chung was brutally clinical as he outclassed the 21-year-old for an hour before the Korean threw in the towel.

Meanwhile, Timea Babos and Kristina Mladenovic beat Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina 6-4, 6-3 to win the women's doubles title. 

TV Info: Eurosport 1 (UK) and ESPN (U.S.) 

Live Stream: Eurosport Player (UK), Tennis Channel Everywhere (U.S.), WatchESPN (U.S.)

Thursday Replay: Eurosport 1 from 1:30 p.m. (GMT); Tennis Channel from 11 a.m. (ET)

Full Results and Schedule: AusOpen.com

Federer, somewhat unusually, opted to receive first at the beginning of Friday's semi-final and immediately took advantage by breaking Chung.

It was a hammer blow for a slightly nervy Chung and, in truth, he never found a way back into the match.

He earned an opportunity to break back immediately on the Federer serve but was unable to take it, and he then lost four games in a row from 2-1 down to lose the opener.

A rapid hold from Federer at the start of the second set immediately put the pressure back on his opponent. Although Chung held well for 1-1, he could not match Federer's class at 2-1 behind.

Per Eurosport UK, a sublime backhand pass earned Federer his first break of the second set for 3-1 and it looked a long way back for Chung.

The end came even sooner than expected, though, as Chung took a medical timeout at 4-1 down and then called it quits at 30-30 and 5-2 down in the second set.

As noted by former Wimbledon champion Pat Cash, it was a disappointing end for Chung, who was competing in his first Grand Slam semi-final after an excellent tournament:

Such was Federer's brilliance, it is unlikely there would have been a different outcome had Chung been able to fight on.

Cilic will have a huge task on his hands on Sunday as he looks to beat Federer and avenge the defeat he endured to the Swiss in last year's Wimbledon final.