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Roger Federer falls in third round at Australian Open

Roger Federer falls in third round at Australian Open

Roger Federer says he had a bad feeling going into his third-round match in Melbourne. On Friday morning, Andreas Seppi proved that Federer was right to be worried.

Ranked No. 46 in the world, Seppi pulled off the upset of the tournament, handing Federer his earliest Australian Open exit in 14 years. Seppi won 6-4, 7-6 (7-5), 4-6, 7-6 (7-5).

“I was aware that this could be a tough match, so I wasn't mistaken this time around," Federer said afterwards. “I guess it was just an overall feeling I had today out on the court that I couldn't really get the whole game flowing. Was it backhand? Was it forehand? Was it serve? It was a bit of everything.”

The No. 2 seed, Federer had nine double faults and 55 unforced errors. He led the first tiebreak 4-1 before Seppi battled to take six of the next seven points. The 33-year-old Swiss also led the final tiebreak 3-1, then 5-4. He had two serves to close it out, but lost both. That set up match point for the 30-year-old Italian.

"It was just a bad day," Federer said. "I wish I could have played better, but clearly it was tough losing the first two sets. I had chances to get back into it. I let it slip, both times in some ways. I guess I won the wrong points out there today."

Seppi, 30, had lost to Federer in 10 previous meetings; he had lost his last 23 matches against top 10 players.

"I just tried my best and it was one of my best matches for sure," said Seppi.

Federer had reached at least the semifinal in Melbourne every year since 2003; he has won the season-opening Grand Slam event four times. This is the first time since 2001 that he's failed to make the fourth round.

In other Day 5 action, Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray each advanced to the fourth round. Nadal defeated Dudi Sela in straight sets, 6-1, 6-0, 7-5. Murray, a three-time finalist in Melbourne, continued his quest for his first title with a straight-set win over Joao Sousa, 6-1, 6-1, 7-5.

No. 2 Maria Sharapova made it look easy as she advanced with a 6-1, 6-1 win over Zarina Diyas. Third-seed Simona Halep is also into the fourth round, defeating Bethanie Mattek-Sands, 6-4, 7-5.

They're joined by No. 7 Eugenie Bouchard, who advanced to the semifinal in Melbourne last year. Bouchard, 20, has made it to at least the fourth round of the last five majors. She played in the semifinal at Roland Garros and the final at Wimbledon last year. On Day 5 in Melbourne, she advanced with a 7-5, 6-0 win over Caroline Garcia.

Looking to her next match, Bouchard said, "I'll be ready for a battle, I'll try to play my game and have some fun also."

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