MELBOURNE, Australia – For the first time in since 2001 at the Australian Open, Roger Federer has failed to make the tournament’s fourth round, shocked by an Italian who had never beaten him in 10 previous encounters. How did that happen, exactly?
(Photo: Bernat Armangue, AP)
Scoreline: Andreas Seppi (ITA) def. [2] Roger Federer (SUI) 6-4, 7-6(5), 4-6, 7-6(5)
An 0-10 head-to-head record (and 21 of 22 sets lost) couldn’t deter the world No. 46 Seppi, an Italian with only three career tournament titles to his name, from notching the biggest win of his career at Rod Laver Arena Friday afternoon as the shadows engulfed this tournament’s center court.
What it means: While the women’s tournament has been riddled with upsets, Federer’s loss marked the most significant shocker on the men’s side through three rounds. The draw opens up for both Andy Murray (Federer’s projected quarterfinal opponent) and Rafael Nadal, who Federer was slated to meet in the semifinals.
Australians celebrated the Federer stunner in a way, as well, as 19-year-old upstart Nick Kyrgios was slated to meet the four-time champion in round four Sunday. Kyrgios plays his third round match Friday night against Malek Jaziri.
How it happened: Federer, who lost his first set to another Italian in Simone Bolleli in the second round, appeared flat and off-key throughout this match, which Australian fans watched in total confusion and sometimes complete silence. Seppi jumped to a two-sets-to-love record by playing consistent baseline tennis, moving a hesitant Federer around the baseline and winning key points that the Swiss has long made his bread and butter. Seppi cemented his lead when Federer couldn’t close out the second breaker after leading by four points to one.
After Federer won the third set, it appeared that Seppi was tightening, however. This tournament had already seen back-from-the-brink wins from Nadal and Maria Sharapova, and Federer looked poised to make the tenth comeback of his career after trailing two sets to love. But the two men held serve throughout the fourth and then engaged in a tense, sometimes messy tie-break. Federer led again, this time by 4-2, but once again couldn’t cross the finish line. Seppi clinched the match on a highlight-worthy running forehand passing shot, the ball landing on the inside corner of the court, painting the lines.
Key stats: Seppi was just 1-25 against the Big 3 (Federer, Nadal and Novak Djokovic) in his career, his only win coming against Nadal indoors, way back in 2008.
The most jaw-dropping of stats come from Federer’s cringe-worthy stat sheet, which was riddled with bullet holes: The 33 year old went only three for 10 on break point opportunities (Seppi was 3 of 5) and committed 55 unforced errors in total.
Federer out scored Seppi 145 to 144 in total points, but the Italian 30-year-old won the most important one: The last.
What he said: I just tried to enjoy playing on center court and tried to do my best, a soft-spoken Seppi said on court after the win. It was one of my best matches for sure. It was great to play in front of a full stadium.
It was just a bad day, Federer said in a press conference after the loss. I wish I could have played better. I had chances to get back into it but I let it slip. I knew how important that second set tiebreaker was, so that one hurt.