KEY BISCAYNE, Fla. (AP) – Roger Federer lost his second consecutive match and the No. 1 ranking Saturday. Big-serving Australian Thanasi Kokkinakis, a qualifier ranked 175th, rallied to upset Federer 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (4) at the Miami Open. The 36-year-old Federer had been the oldest No. 1 man ever, but he’ll lose that spot to Rafael Nadal when the new rankings come out April 2.
“I deserve it after this match,’’ Federer said. “That’s how I feel.’’
Kokkinakis became the lowest-ranked man to beat a No. 1 player since No. 178 Francisco Clavet upset Lleyton Hewitt in 2003. That upset was also at Key Biscayne. “Pretty crazy,’’ said Kokkinakis, 21. “I’m pretty happy about it.’’ Federer now has lost back-to-back matches for the first time since 2014, a dip that comes after a career-best 17-0 start to the year. He lost to Juan Martin del Potro in the Indian Wells final Sunday, a defeat that also came down to a winner-take-all tiebreaker. Did the losses have anything in common? “Yes, 7-6 in the third,’’ Federer said. “Other than that, not much.’’
