Roger Federer will lose the World No.1 ranking when the rankings are updated next week after his shock 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 defeat to Thanasi Kokkinakis in the Miami Masters second round.
Federer had been the defending champion at the event and his failure to at least reach the quarter-finals will see Rafael Nadal regain top spot despite the Spaniard’s injury absence.
Federer also had some news for tennis fans in a press conference he gave just minutes after his defeat to Australia’s Kokkinakis.
Federer: “I decided not to play the clay-season. I didn’t play great last week too. I am trying to figure things out, now I have some time. It was important returning to no.1 in Rotterdam, keeping it now or getting it back within the season is not important.“
Federer’s decision to not play the clay season, including Roland Garros, is disappointing for fans of the star, though not surprising. The Swiss opted to take a similar decision last season, missing the clay events as his rival and friend Rafael Nadal was rampant on his best surface.
Federer instead returned in the grass events, and it paid dividends, as he went on to win Wimbledon.
Federer: “I’m a positive thinker, every match is another opportunity. Disappointed I couldn’t find a way. He was just a bit better than me today. He was more relaxed, I deserve losing the no.1 after today, it was so bad. I was in search-mode the whole match. You take a break, get away from it all, and get back to practice court and work.”
Looking forwards, it seems that Federer’s ranking will largely stay fixed inside the Top 3. He has no points to defend on clay having not played on the surface last season. He could even return to No.1 if Nadal is unable to defend the more than 4,000 points he has upcoming. Should that be the case, there could be opportunities for the likes of Marin Cilic, Dominic Thiem, or even an in-form Novak Djokovic to make up ground.
