MIAMI, Florida: Roger Federer’s latest reign atop the world rankings will end after the Swiss great’s shock loss to Australian qualifier Thanasi Kokkinakis in the second round of the Miami Masters on Saturday.
Kokkinakis, ranked 175th in the world, needed a wild card just to get into qualifying. But he showed nerves of steel in a 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7/4) triumph over 20-time Grand Slam champion Federer.
“I was calmer than I thought,” Kokkinakis said of the third-set tiebreaker. “Inside I was pretty happy, I was excited, but I kept pretty calm.”Federer, who won his 20th Grand Slam crown at the Australian Open, regained the number one spot in February after winning the ATP title in Rotterdam but needed to reach the quarter-finals to remain at the summit.
Instead he’ll be replaced by Spain’s Rafael Nadal when the rankings are released at the end of the tournament.“I deserve it after this match. That’s how I feel. Just so bad,” said Federer, adding that he “could never get to any level that I was happy with today”.
“Sometimes you have these matches,” he said. “Sometimes you find a way through. I just couldn’t get it done today.”The 21-year-old Kokkinakis, who has already battled injuries in his young career, became the lowest-ranked player to beat a world number one since Spain’s Francisco Clavet was 178th when he upset top-ranked Lleyton Hewitt in the second round at Miami in 2003.
Federer appeared firmly in control when he breezed through the first set without facing a break point, dropping just six points on his own serve. His lone break for a 3-1 lead was all he needed to pocket the set.
But after saving break points in the opening game of the second, Kokkinakis seized upon a lackluster service game from Federer to break for a 3-1 lead, holding firm on his own serve to force the decider.
Federer was again impenetrable on his serve in the third, but he was unable to capitalize on his only two break points, both in a marathon sixth game.Two errors from Federer gave Kokkinakis a 4-3 lead. A stinging forehand winner put the young Aussie up 6-4, and he closed it out when Federer netted a backhand service return.
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