Roger Federer has suffered more heart-breaking losses in Melbourne, but none as unexpected.
Federer’s hopes of grabbing an 18th grand slam title next week were thwarted in the third round of the Australian Open by world No.46 Andreas Seppi, who triumphed in four sets on Friday.
Not since 2001, long before Federer had started his ascent to world No.1, has he exited the season-opening grand slam so early.
The 6-4 7-6 (7-5) 4-6 7-6 (7-5) result on Rod Laver Arena was as surprising as the fashion in which the Italian, who has never progressed beyond the fourth round of a major, achieved it.
Federer’s ninth double-fault came in a dramatic final tiebreak, the second seed giving up an early lead – as he did in the second-set breaker.
“I had to play it a little bit passively at times when normally I would play aggressive,” a visibly stunned Federer said, adding he let the match slip.
“For some reason I struggled … it had things to do with Andreas’ game and with my game as well.
“It just broke me to lose that second set … and the fourth.
“Just a brutal couple of sets to lose.”
The defeat, which came after 10 wins against Seppi in which Federer dropped just one set, will prompt further debate regarding the 33-year-old’s future and whether the icon is past his best.
The four-time Australian Open winner dubbed it a “bad day”, but insisted he had plenty of those in a stretch of sustained success.
“It’s not like I’m playing shocking or I’m feeling shocking,” he said.
“If I were you, I wouldn’t read very much into that.”
The Swiss superstar batted away questions about a gruelling lead-up to the Open and being scheduled to play in the morning session.
“It’s totally no excuse,” he said.
Federer pointed to the fact he was “playing very well” in practice and in Brisbane, the scene of his 1000th win on tour and 83rd ATP title.
The opening week is always expected to be a walk in Melbourne Park for Federer – a reputation well earned given he reached at least the semi-finals for 11 straight years.
Before the match, it was hard to make a case for an upset.
In his past 54 clashes with top-10 opponents, Seppi had tallied one victory.
But Federer started sluggishly and from the moment he was broken to love in the first set, giving Seppi a 5-4 lead, it was clear something was amiss.
Federer held a 4-2 and 5-3 lead in the tiebreak, but lost the final four points to make it a two-set lead for Seppi.
Federer found his feet in the third set, dropping only four points on serve.
But it was too little, too late.
“When it counted the most, somehow it just ended up going his way,” Federer said.
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