Twenty-time grand slam champion Roger Federer will lose his world number one spot after suffering a shock defeat at the hands of world number 175 Thanasi Kokkinakis at the Miami Open on Sunday.
The Australia stunned defending champion Federer 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7/4).
“This is nuts,” Kokkinakis expressed after his win.
“It’s an unreal week for me. 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. I didn’t put a lot of scoreboard pressure on him, but when I’m playing on my terms I don’t feel there are too many people that can go with me. I just needed to play my game and aggressive tennis,” he added.
Following the defeat, Federer will be replaced by Rafael Nadal at the top of the new rankings.
The 36-year-old became the oldest world number one after winning the ATP title in Rotterdam, soon after claiming his 20th Grand Slam crown at the Australian Open.
The Miami Open defeat to Federer comes just a week after falling to Juan Martin del Potro in the BNP Paribas Open final.
“It’s disappointing,” Federer said post his defeat.
“Don’t know why I could never get to any level that I was happy with today. Sometimes you have these matches. Sometimes you find a way through. I just couldn’t get it done today,” he said on Sunday
