By Chris Oddo | Thursday, January 22, 2015
Andreas Seppi pulled of the upset of the Australian Open on Day 5 when he knocked out four-time champion Roger Federer in four sets.
Photo Source: Getty
Roger Federer’s run of eleven consecutive semifinal appearances at the Australian Open came to an abrupt halt on Friday in Melbourne.
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The 17-time Grand Slam and four-time Australian Open champion fell to Andreas Seppi, 6-4, 7-6(5), 4-6, 7-6(5), marking the first time in eleven career tussles that Federer has fallen to the Italian.
“I know the strength of Seppi,” Federer told reporters after the match. “I was aware of the test and was well-prepared. Just somehow couldn't play my best tennis today. It was definitely partially because of Andreas playing very well.”
Federer had difficulty with the pesky, fleet-footed Italian from the onset, and he really never found ways to assert his game against Seppi. He struggled to make winners, finishing with 55 unforced errors and nine double-faults, but his real downfall might have been the robotic consistency of Seppi’s baseline game.
“Especially after the first set I felt, you know, I am there,” said Seppi. “I am hitting the ball very well. I started to believe that I can do more.”
When Federer needed to win points, he often found himself engaged in long baseline rallies that proved difficult for him to win consistently. Seppi was quick to cover all corners of the court, and he regularly moved the ball to Federer’s backhand, which lacked punch on this day.
The Italian also had an excellent day from the service stripe. He registered many quick holds and saved seven of ten break points against Federer.
But the most important points for Seppi came in crucial junctures of the second and fourth set tiebreaker.
“I was pretty calm, I have to say, from the beginning,” Seppi said after the match. “Also in the important moments. Maybe it was the match where I felt more comfortable in my life also with my emotions. I think that help me for sure in the end of the match a lot.”
In the fourth set tiebreaker, after rallying from a mini-break down, Seppi found himself with a match point on his serve. Federer played some of his most decisive tennis of the match, hammering an inside-out forehand return and then ripping a forehand approach shot, but Seppi, moving quickly to his right, stuck out his racquet and poked a miracle forehand past Federer down the line to seal the upset.
“When it counted the most somehow it just ended up going his way,” Federer lamented. “I think that was because overall I wasn't feeling it quite as well. I had to play it a little bit passively at times when normally I would play aggressive. You know, it was just a tough match for me.”
The loss marks only the second time that Federer lost before the round of 16 in his last 43 majors. He tried his best to sum it up afterwards: “For some reason I struggled,” he said. “Like I explained, it had things to do with Andreas' game and with my game as well. You put those things together, all of a sudden you're playing a match you don't want to play.
“But 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.”