Follow us on @CNNSport<\/a> and like us on Facebook <\/p>\n (CNN)<\/cite>Roger Federer was back as a Grand Slam contender after a stellar 2014 season. <\/p>\nHe reached the Wimbledon final – taking world No. 1 Novak Djokovic to five sets – and ended the campaign by helping Switzerland to a maiden Davis Cup title. <\/p>\n
But did all that tennis cost Federer – and his 33-year-old physique – last year at the Australian Open this year? <\/p>\n
Was it a hand injury he sustained earlier this week? Or was his opponent just too good?<\/p>\n
Regardless of the possible reasons, the bottom line is that Federer will have to wait for a record-extending 18th Grand Slam title after beating Andreas Seppi 6-4 7-6(5) 4-6 7-6(5) has lost. in the third round on Friday in Melbourne. <\/p>\n
There were no such problems for Rafael Nadal, Andy Murray and Maria Sharapova. <\/p>\n
That Seppi was the man who knocked out Federer came as a surprise – the Italian had never won in the previous 10 games. He had claimed only one set. <\/p>\n
And against tennis’ big three, Federer, Djokovic and Nadal, Seppi possessed a dismal 1-25 record. <\/p>\n
But the world No. 46 played one of his best matches and most importantly didn’t collapse when the finish line was in sight. <\/p>\n
Instead, it was Federer who blinked in the tiebreak of the fourth set. <\/p>\n
He led 3-1, only with a double fault at 3-2. Then Federer led 5-4 and made a costly, unforced error with the backhand. Federer also regretted missed chances in the tie-break of the second set when Seppi was there. <\/p>\n
“It just broke me to lose that second set,” Federer told reporters. \u201cAnd actually the fourth one, I should win that too. There’s only a few brutal sentences to lose.”<\/p>\n
Seppi ended the excitement in stunning fashion by scrambling his way before hitting an instinctive forehand pass winner down the line. <\/p>\n
“It was definitely one of the most important shots of my life,” said Seppi. <\/p>\n
Federer was thus eliminated despite winning more points throughout the match, 145 to 144. <\/p>\n
“I felt yesterday for some reason and this morning it wasn’t going to be very easy today,” said Federer. \u201cEven in training, I still felt that way. <\/p>\n
“I was just hoping it’s one of those feelings you have sometimes and it’s absolutely not true and you just come out and play a routine game. I was aware of the test and was well prepared. <\/p>\n
“I just somehow couldn’t play my best tennis today. That was probably partly because Andreas played very well.”<\/p>\n
Maybe the warning signs from his previous lap were there. <\/p>\n
Federer lost a set to Seppi’s Italian compatriot Simone Bolelli in the second round. He – and this is rare for Federer – urged the coach to address an issue with his hand. Federer thought he might have been stung by a bee. <\/p>\n
He did not mention the hand or other physical problems in his briefing with reporters. <\/p>\n
Federer also defended his decision to play exhibition matches in December during tennis’ notoriously short off-season in India. <\/p>\n
“I wanted to go to India,” said Federer. “I wanted to go back to Switzerland for Christmas. I trained as hard as I could. <\/p>\n
“That’s all I can do. Sure, the year ended late, but a week later than normal. At the end of the day, I’m honestly confident that what I did was the right thing to do.”<\/p>\n
Federer’s exit has made Murray’s way to the semifinals much easier. The two-time Grand Slam champion and Federer were supposed to meet in the quarterfinals on paper. <\/p>\n
While Federer was sent home, Murray easily defeated Portugal’s Joao Sousa 6-1 6-1 7-5. <\/p>\n
However, Murray’s performance wasn’t the only topic of conversation during his press conference. A specific tweet was also mentioned. <\/p>\n
After Nadal visibly struggled on court in the second round and puked on his five-set win over Tim Smyczek, Murray appeared to criticize the Spaniard in this tweet: “When I was cramping at the US Open last year and won I was a ‘drama queen unfit need to see psychiatrist faker’ weird…” Murray wrote. <\/p>\n
But he insisted he wasn’t targeting Nadal on Friday. <\/p>\n
“I didn’t see the whole game last night but Rafa was clearly struggling,” said Murray. \u201cIt was a great effort to get through what everyone was rightly saying. <\/p>\n
\u201cBut that certainly wasn’t the case at the US Open when I was in a similar state. And yeah, I just don’t see why that should be.”<\/p>\n
Nadal looked physically better on the pitch after suffering cramps against Smyczek and eliminating Israel’s Dudi Sela 6-1 6-0 7-5 under the lights at Rod Laver Arena. He saved all seven break points he faced – and they all came in the decider. <\/p>\n
He said in an interview in court that he slept a lot to recover but didn’t move when asked about a percentage of his physical condition. <\/p>\n
“Uh, I was never very good at math,” Nadal joked. <\/p>\n
Joining Nadal and Murray on lap four were Tomas Berdych from seventh position and Grigor Dimitrov from tenth position. <\/p>\n
Dimitrov survived Marcos Baghdatis’ angry bid to prevail against the charismatic 2006 finalist 4-6 6-3 3-6 6-3 6-3.<\/p>\n
Second-placed Sharapova, Dimitrov’s girlfriend, swept aside 31st-seeded Zarina Diyas 6-1, 6-1 two days after saving match points against a Russian qualifier. <\/p>\n
Other winners in the women’s draw included third-place finisher Simona Halep and seventh-place finisher Eugenie Bouchard. <\/p>\n
Read: Serena shifts into gear<\/p>\n
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