Miami, Mar 25 : 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.
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 36-year-old wasted no time in announcing he’ll skip the clay-court season, including the French Open, just as he did last year after winning titles in Indian Wells and Miami.
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.
