Roger Federer is out of the Australian Open, his chances of reaching a 12th consecutive semifinal at Melbourne Park erased in a shocking third-round loss to Andreas Seppi on Friday.Rafael Nadal is still in contention, rebounding from his five-set, second-round win to beat No. 106-ranked Dudi Sella 6-1, 6-0, 7-5 in a third-round match lasting a little over two hours to reach the fourth round.
No. 2-ranked Federer came into the season's first major in form, winning the warmup tournament at the Brisbane International and aiming for an 18th Grand Slam title. Nadal was coming off a lengthy stint on the sidelines, and hadn't given himself much chance of collecting a 15th major.
Federer had never lost to No. 46-ranked Seppi in 10 previous meetings, but made some uncharacteristic errors including nine double-faults — one to surrender a mini break in the last tiebreaker — in the 6-4, 7-6 (5), 4-6, 7-6 (5) defeat. Seppi, a 30-year-old Italian who had only advanced beyond the second round once at his nine previous trips to the Australian Open, held his nerve despite some withering winners from Federer. Federer also had a 4-1 lead in the second-set tiebreaker and let it slide.
“I knew how important that second-set tiebreaker was — clearly that hurt, losing that one,” Federer said. “It just broke me to lose that second set. And actually the fourth, I should win it, too. Just a brutal couple of sets to lose there. The end wasn't pretty.” Federer has won the Australian title four times, and had reached the semifinals or better at Melbourne Park every year since winning the championship for the first time in 2004. This was his earliest exit since 2001, when he also lost in the third round.
“I had to believe that I could win,” said Seppi, who said he stuck out his racket and hoped for the best on match point — a forehand that sailed past Federer and landed in the corner. Seppi next faces Australian teenager Nick Kyrgios, who shrugged off concern over a nosebleed to beat Malek Jaziri of Tunisia 6-3, 7-6 (6), 6-1. Nadal faces a fourth-rounder against Kevin Anderson, who beat No. 24 Richard Gasquet 6-4, 7-6 (3), 7-6 (6).
Three-time Australian Open finalist Andy Murray beat Joao Sousa 6-1, 6-1, 7-5 to set up a fourth-round clash with No. 10 Grigor Dimitrov, who had a tough third-rounder against 2006 Australian Open finalist Marcos Baghdatis. Tomas Berdych needed eight match points before beating Viktor Troicki 6-4, 6-3, 6-4 and will next play Bernard Tomic, who beat fellow Australian Sam Groth. On the women's side, Maria Sharapova needed just 61 minutes for her 6-1, 6-1 win over No. 31 Zarina Diyas and will next meet No. 21 Peng Shuai. Eugenie Bouchard struggled through a scrappy opening set before getting on top in a 7-5, 6-0 third-round win over Caroline Garcia that featured 10 breaks.
Murray hits back
Andy Murray usually avoids reading social media during tournaments, but he wasted no time issuing a scathing tweet at the Australian Open this week about those who've called him a “drama queen” in the past. And after beating Joao Sousa on Friday to book a spot in the fourth round against Grigor Dimitrov, Murray didn't temper his anger one bit.
Murray said that when he suffered cramps during a match against Robin Haase on a hot, humid day at the US Open last year, he was criticized for being dramatic and in need of a psychologist by some. When Rafael Nadal was similarly battling cramps against Tim Smyczek at Melbourne Park on Wednesday, however, Murray said the Spaniard was praised for playing through the pain.
“Clearly Rafa was struggling pretty badly. It was a great effort to come through it, which rightly is what everyone was saying. But that certainly wasn't the case at the US Open when I was in a similar state,” he said. “And I just don't understand why that would be the case. “I was in quite a lot of pain in that match. Being told that I need to see a psychologist because of it I felt was a little bit unfair. I didn't hear anyone calling for Rafa to see a psychologist the other night.” In his tweet on Thursday, Murray said after his US Open win, he was called “drama queen, unfit, needs to see a shrink, faker.” It's not the first time Murray has been criticized for his on-court demeanor. Former Wimbledon champion Virginia Wade called him a “drama queen” at the 2012 FrenchOpen when he overcame back spasms to beat Jarkko Nieminen.