Roger Federer to carry on despite worst result since 2001

The world number two was looking more comfortable, more relaxed and more stylish than his big rivals in their respective opening two rounds, but that all came to a halt when he met 46th-ranked Andreas Seppi of Italy.

I the battle of the 30-somethings, 30-year-old Seppi outlasted one of tennis’ greatest champions 6-4 7-6 (7-5) 4-6 7-6 (7-5), and on one of 33-year-old Federer’s favourite tennis courts, Rod Laver Arena.

Federer’s ninth double-fault came in a dramatic final tiebreak, the second seed giving up an early lead - as he did in the second-set breaker.

“Just a bad day. I wish I could have played better but clearly it was tough losing the first two sets,” he said.

“I had chances to get back into it but let it slip. It’s a disappointing loss.”

Just to hammer home how long it has been since Federer last looked this mortal at the season’s first Grand Slam, here’s a few facts about the last time he went out in the third round – back in 2001:

The veteran Federer, of course, was asked about his future after the surprise loss, just as he was when he lost to Sergiy Stakhovsky in the second round at Wimbledon in 2013.

The Swiss ace, however, wasn't fazed.

"This is a feeling I've had for 15 years," Federer told the press conference. "To me I don't read anything into that. It's just not the best feeling to have.

"It's not like I'm playing shocking or I'm feeling shocking. It's like one of those things you look back and maybe, yeah, I didn't feel so good.

"But if you win, you never even question it. If I were you, I wouldn't read very much into that."

Call us crazy, but we still think that ‘one more’ Grand Slam title is going to come for Roger Federer. It did seem as though, pre-tournament, the stars would align for tennis’ biggest star on this particular occasion, but much like his rough run in the summer of 2013 there’ll likely be the occasional shout for him to retire, which as usual should be ignored. In fact, if number 18 is to come, it’d be pretty poetic if it happened at Wimbledon. You heard it here first!

Kevin Mitchell, in Melbourne for The Guardian: “Roger Federer is out of the Australian Open, sweet music to Andy Murray and nearly every other player on his side of the draw, but a telling blow for the Swiss’s fans, the tournament organisers and a quite a few TV executives.

“The world No46 Andreas Seppi on Friday stole the fourth-round spot nearly everyone had pencilled in for Federer, who was on course to meet Murray in the semi-finals.

“The world No2, who has been in scintillating form, could do nothing about the Italian’s spectacular final shot, which whirred past him at the net and down the line in the second tie break of a gripping match. It arrived like a gunshot, felling the congregation’s hero, ruining their day – probably their year.

“Seppi, who had not beaten Federer in 10 attempts, won 6-4, 7-6 (7-5), 4-6, 7-6 (7-5) after two hours and 57 minutes to leave a packed Rod Laver Arena stunned into silence.”

Andy Murray could benefit a great deal from Roger's early exit, but is confident Federer can still win another Grand slam, Despite his shock early exit in Melbourne.

"I would probably bet that he [Federer] would win another one," said Murray.

"He's played great tennis at Wimbledon last year. I played him here last year and he was playing very, very well.

"Obviously I had an interesting experience against him at the end of the year at the O2. And he's still playing great tennis.

"But Roger knows more than anyone how difficult these competitions are to win. When he was playing at his peak, he made it look extremely easy, but it's not.

"If he had an off day today, you can easily lose against guys that are in the top 100 in the world. They're all very, very good players.

"The way he played in Brisbane and finished last year, he's definitely still got chances to win Grand Slams."