Federer Loses Again, Cans His Clay Court Schedule

Thanasi Kokkinakis was a qualifier for the 2018 Miami Open.

That's the life you live when the ATP has you at No 175 in their world rankings.

The great thing about sports, though, is the knowledge that every dog has his day.

And this one was his.

 

Now that he's got the hang of it, maybe he'll have more, and because of this, top dog Roger Federer will have less.

This season, at least, as the soon-to-be former World No 1 has decided to cut down his workload.

Federer's loss to Kokkinakis -- 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (4) -- at the Miami Open was his second in a row and spurred his decision to skip the clay season for the second straight year.

 

The Aussie challenger is knowing for a thundering serve as well as an accompanying forehand, but he's been derailed by a string of injuries that kept him away from center-stage matches.

Not in Miami, though. Kokkinakis has practiced with Federer in the past, but this is the first time he was firing with live ammo:

 

At 36, the Swiss master was the oldest No 1 ever.

With this loss, he'll be replaced by the recovering Rafael Nadal when the new rankings are revealed on Mon 2 Apr.

 

On the other side of the net, Kokkinakis is now the lowest-ranked dude to topple a top seed since 2003, when then-No 178 Francisco Clavet stunned Leyton Hewitt, right here at the Miami Open.

That's history. Federer's made all sortsa history in his career.

It's now up to Kokkinakis to show he won't be a footnote in history.