Kokkinakis shocks Federer

Day Five in Miami and the top seeds in both the men’s and women’s draws both departed.

Simona Halep (1), in one of the eight third round matches played, fell in three sets to Agnieszka Radwanska (30) 3-6 6-2 6-3.

Into the round of sixteen was wildcard Vika Azarenka, eliminating Anastasija Sevastova (20). It is great to see Vika the mum screaming back to her proper place in women’s tennis, because she adds even more to an increasingly deep pool of quality players on tour.

The men’s second round matches were concluded, and no one really cared about any of the matches other than that which showed top seed Roger Federer losing to Australian qualifier Thanasi Kokkinakis.

Thanasi had played just three matches for the year, with one win, while Roger had lost just won after winning 17 straight.

Federer served efficiently in set one, with 77% of first deliveries finding the mark, and 77% of points won on all his serves.

Kokkinakis, for his part, won 62% of points behind his serve, despite a poor 42% first serve percentage.

Federer faced no break points, but converted one of the two presented his way, and led 6-3 with little drama.

The Aussie forehand began to worry Federer in set two, particularly on the Swiss second serve, where most of the points were mopped up by the confident Thanasi.

The single break in this set was owned by Kokkinakis and the match was surprisingly levelled 3-6 6-3.

A tie break was required in the third set, and Kokkinakis survived a number of pressure situations to reach that point.

An excellently played breaker gave the young talent a huge victory, and Federer became the victim of two successive losses for the first time since 2014.

This shock win was by the lowest ranked player over a number one since 2003.

A great boost for Thanasi who had been beset by injury throughout his career, almost ending it before it had a chance to thrive.

Now hopefully he can progress, his next match against Fernando Verdasco a real challenge.