Federer knocked out by Seppi in Australian Open

Roger Federer of Switzerland gestures to Andreas Seppi of Italy after hitting the net-cord during their men's singles third round match at the Australian Open 2015 tennis tournament in Melbourne January 23, 2015. [Photo/Agencies]

MELBOURNE - Second seed Roger Federer was bundled out of the Australian Open third round by Italian Andreas Seppi on Friday, suffering his first career defeat in 11 meetings between the pair in the 6-4 7-6(5) 4-6 7-6(5) loss.

The 17-times grand slam champion has not lost this early in the season-opening grand slam since his second trip to Melbourne Park in 2001, when he also lost in the third round.

"I just tried to enjoy playing on centre court again," Seppi said in a courtside interview after his victory. "It's not often you get the chance to play on centre court.

"I just tried to play my best and I did because I was playing Roger.

"You never feel comfortable playing against Roger, but I was focussing on my service game, I didn't have many chances on his serve."