Kokkinakis topples Federer

KEY BISCAYNE: Roger

Federer has lost his second consecutive match and the No 1 ranking.

Australian Thanasi Kokkinakis, a qualifier ranked 175th, rallied to upset Federer 36, 63 ,76 (74) in the second round at the Miami Open.

The 36yearold Federer, the oldest man to be ranked world No 1, will lose that 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 No 178 Francisco Clavet upset Lleyton Hewitt in 2003, also at Key Biscayne.

‘‘Pretty crazy,’’ Kokkinakis said. ‘‘I’m pretty happy about it.’’

Federer has lost backtoback matches for the first time since 2014, a dip that comes after a careerbest 170 start to the year.

He lost to Juan Martin del Potro in the Indian Wells final also in a winnertakeall tiebreaker.

Did the losses have anything in common?

‘‘Yes, 76 in the third,’’ Federer said.

‘‘Other than that, not much.’’ Kokkinakis (21) has long been regarded as a promising talent with a thunderous serve and forehand, but has been plagued by injuries.

The match was his first against Federer, although they have practised together.

‘‘I’ve trained with [Federer] a bunch of times and he’s a great role model for the sport, but I took what I learned and played my game and executed,’’ Kokkinakis said.

The match in Miami turned when Federer played a poor service game and was broken at love to fall behind 31 in the second set.

‘‘That game I knuckled down and put pressure on him,’’ Kokkinakis said.

‘‘I started to dictate from there.’’

‘‘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.’’