Roger Federer vs. Andreas Seppi: Score, Reaction from 2015 Australian Open

Roger Federer's 2015 Australian Open came to an abrupt conclusion on Friday at the Rod Laver Arena. Unseeded Andreas Seppi upset the Swiss star in Melbourne 6-4, 7-6 (5), 4-6, 7-6 (5).

Seppi spoke about his victory, per Inside Tennis' Lucia Hoff:

Coming into the day, Federer owned a sizable advantage over Seppi. He'd never lost to the Italian in 10 matches, and he dropped only a single set to Seppi during that stretch.

Tennis writer Courtney Nguyen joked that the 11th time was the charm for Seppi:

To his credit, Seppi showed no fear on Thursday, attacking Federer relentlessly with his forehand and teeing off on Federer's second serve.

The 17-time major champion lost seven of his 11 points on second serve and, in struggling to deal with Seppi's offense, he hit 17 unforced errors in the first set.

The ninth game of the set proved pivotal, with Seppi earning a massive break. Federer had three unforced errors and a double-fault to essentially hand his opponent the first set on a silver platter. Seppi obliged, holding serve and taking a 1-0 lead.

Seppi wasn't quite as electric in the second set, but Federer's second serves were once again a major problem. He won seven of his 17 second-service points and shot himself in the foot with three double-faults.

The set went to a tiebreaker, which Federer started strongly by building a 4-1 lead. However, his advantage was short-lived, as Seppi won six of the next seven points to shock everyone by stealing the set and doubling his lead.

Losing the second set was particularly important for Federer. He'd come back from a 0-2 deficit only once in his Australian Open career, per Mark Donaldson of ESPN FC:

According to ESPN Tennis, Seppi also had a 91 percent winning percentage when building a two-set advantage, per ESPN Tennis:

"

Seppi has a 20-2 record in Majors when winning 1st two sets (l. to Djokovic 2012 French Open 4th RD, l. to Granollers 2010 US Open 1st RD).

— ESPNTennis (@ESPNTennis) January 23, 2015"

Federer is renowned for remaining cool, calm and collected on the court even in the more critical of junctures. However, even he couldn't keep his emotions in check and looked visibly disgusted after digging himself into a massive hole, per David Law of BBC Radio 5 Live and BT Sport:

The 33-year-old regained his composure and looked more like himself in the third set. He was dominant on serve, dropping a total of four points through the entire set. Seppi didn't have a single break-point opportunity.

After breaking serve in the third game of the set, Federer cruised over the next seven games to push the match to a fourth set.

The fourth set came down to another tiebreaker as neither player lost serve. The tiebreak was a breathless affair, with both players exchanging the lead. Federer gained a 5-4 advantage with the chance to secure the set on serve.

However, Seppi won the point, which was the prelude for Federer's demise:

"

Or not. Backhand error from Federer and he hands back the mini-break. 5-5. Huge point. #AusOpen

— SI Tennis (@SI_Tennis) January 23, 2015"

Simply put, Federer doesn't lose early at the Australian Open. This loss snaps a streak of consecutive semifinals that dates back to 2004. His opponents pushed him relatively hard in his first two matches, though, so the upset doesn't come out of nowhere.

Many have wondered how much time Federer has left as a genuine Grand Slam threat. He silenced some of his critics with last year's Wimbledon final appearance, but bowing out this early of the Aussie Open will give plenty of ammunition to those same critics.

It would obviously be premature to write off Federer altogether, but it wouldn't be surprising if this defeat signals a larger downturn for the star.

Seppi, meanwhile, advances to the fourth round and is looking for the first Grand Slam quarterfinal of his career. He'll play either Malek Jaziri or local favorite Nick Kyrgios next as he attempts to achieve the feat.