Kokkinakis stuns Federer
ROGER Federer saluted Thanasi Kokkinakis after losing to the luckless Australian at the Miami Open and relinquishing his world No. 1 ranking.
Kokkinakis, ranked 175th, rallied to upset Federer 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7-4) in the second round for the biggest win of his injury-marred career. The 36-year-old Federer, the oldest man to be ranked world No. 1, will lose top spot to Rafael Nadal when the new rankings are released on April 2.
“I deserve it after this match,” Federer said. “That’s how I feel.”
Kokkinakis became the lowestranked man to beat a No. 1 since thenworld No. 178 Francisco Clavet upset Lleyton Hewitt in 2003. That match was also at Key Biscayne.
“Pretty crazy. I’m pretty happy about it,” Kokkinakis said after teeing up a date with Fernando Verdasco.
Federer has long admired Kokkinakis, twice inviting the youngster to train with him in Dubai.
“I’ve always liked his game,” Federer said. “I’m happy for him that on the big stage he was able to show it. It’s a big result for him in his career, and I hope it’s going to launch him.”
Federer has lost back-to-back matches for the first time since 2014, a dip that comes after a career-best 17-0 start to the year.
Fourth seed Alexander Zverev, eighth seed Jack Sock, 10th seed Tomas Berdych and Spaniard David Ferrer all progressed to the third round, as did Nick Kyrgios, who crushed Serb Dusan Lajovic 6-4, 6-1.