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Melbourne, Australia (SportsNetwork.com) - Andreas Seppi knew he couldnt relax. Up two sets against Roger Federer, the 30-year-old Italian was eying a big upset but remained wary of the opponent on the other side of the net. Its never comfortable playing Roger, Seppi said in an on-court interview with a TV reporter. He should know. Seppi lost his first 10 matches against Federer before finally finding the all-time greats number in a monster upset on one of tennis biggest stages. Seppi handed the second-seeded former world No. 1 Federer his earliest exit at the Australian Open in 14 years, gutting out a four-set win in the third round on Friday that took three hours to complete and ended with one of the unheralded Italians best shots on match point in a fourth-set tiebreak. Following a hard serve, Seppi found himself in no mans land on Federers return but got the ball back. It drew Federer to the net, but Seppi was able to track the next shot down in the corner, looping a forehand over Federer and down the line for a winner. It finished off a 6-4, 7-6 (7-5), 4-6, 7-6 (7-5) win that ended Federers run of 11 consecutive semifinal appearances at the seasons first Grand Slam event. To beat Roger first time, especially in a Grand Slam, best-of-five, is a special moment for me, said Seppi. Of course, at the beginning, I just went on the court to enjoy the match and to play my best tennis. I was pretty calm. I have to say, from the beginning [and] also in the important moments. Federer hadnt lost this early at the Aussie Open since he was also ousted in the third round way back in 2001. [It was] just a bad day, admitted Federer. I wish I could have played better, but clearly it was tough losing the first two. [I] had chances to get back into it. I let it slip, I mean, both times in some ways. I guess I won the wrong points out there today. I knew how important that second set tiebreak was, so clearly that hurt, losing that one. The end wasnt pretty. It wasnt easy to play with the shadow. But it was the same for both of us. [It was] just a disappointing loss. The four-time Aussie champion -- his last win came in 2010 -- Federer aced Seppi 15 times but also committed nine double faults, including one to go down 15-30 in the 12th game of the fourth set. The Swiss star fought back and won the game with an ace to force a tiebreak. Federer holds a mens-record 17 Grand Slam titles, but its the three-time ATP champion Seppi who moved on to face Aussie Nick Kyrgios. Meanwhile, third-seeded former No. 1 Rafael Nadal got past Israeli Dudi Sela 6-1, 6-0, 7-5 and No. 6 seed Andy Murray, a three-time Aussie Open runner- up, eased to a 6-1, 6-1, 7-5 win over Portuguese Joao Sousa and will next face No. 10 Grigor Dimitrov, who battled Marcos Baghdatis for 3 hours, 27 minutes before besting the 2006 Melbourne runner-up 4-6, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, 6-3 win. The 14-time Grand Slam champion Nadal beat Federer in the 2009 Aussie final and is a two-time runner-up in Melbourne, including last year when he was stunned by Stan Wawrinka in the final. Nadal, of course, is the reigning French Open king. Nadals fourth-round opponent will be tall South African Kevin Anderson. In other third-round action involving seeds, No. 7 former Wimbledon runner-up Tomas Berdych handled Serb and last weeks Sydney champion Viktor Troicki 6-4, 6-3, 6-4 and a No. 14 Anderson dismissed No. 24 Frenchman Richard Gasquet 6-4, 7-6 (7-3), 7-6 (8-6). Up next for Berdych will be dangerous Aussie Bernard Tomic. Also on Day 5, the promising crowd favorite Kyrgios doused Tunisian Malek Jaziri 6-3, 7-6 (8-6), 6-1 and an all-Aussie affair saw Tomic knock out Sam Groth 6-4, 7-6 (10-8), 6-3. The third round will resume here on Saturday, including matches for current world No. 1 Novak Djokovic, the fourth-seeded reigning Oz champion Wawrinka and fifth-seeded U.S. Open runner-up Kei Nishikori. Djokovic will take on 31st-seeded Spaniard Fernando Verdasco, while Wawrinka will encounter Finnish veteran Jarkko Nieminen and the Japanese Nishikori will be opposed by American two-time NCAA singles champion Steve Johnson. The reigning Wimbledon champ Djokovic is a seven-time major titlist, including four Aussie crowns. He captured the title at Melbourne Park three straight years from 2011-13. Also slated for action Saturday are eighth-seeded Canadian Milos Raonic, ninth-seeded former Roland Garros finalist David Ferrer and 19th-seeded towering American John Isner. Wholesale Royals Jerseys .Y. - Major League Soccer is prepared to start its season this weekend even if there isnt a labour deal with its referees and other on-field officials. Kansas City Royals Shirts . CNN and Gazzetta dello Sport reporter Tancredi Palmeri broke the news via Twitter Tuesday afternoon. Italian Football Association President Giancarlo Abete has also resigned, according to Palmeri. https://www.cheaproyals.com/ . A Swiss Federal Tribunal ruling published Friday said that FIFAs disputes panel and the Court of Arbitration for Sport correctly imposed the sanction for Nantes enticing Guinea forward Ismael Bangoura to break his contract with Dubai club Al Nasr in January 2012. Royals Jerseys 2019 . -- Challenged for the first time under Major League Baseballs expanded replay system, umpires got it right. Royals Jerseys China . The closer wasnt available. The road trip, a disaster to that point.CHARLOTTE, N.C. - The Panthers say theyd like to find a replacement for longtime No. 1 wide receiver Steve Smith in this years NFL draft. The big question is when theyll do it. The Panthers have the 28th overall pick, but the NFC South champions have a variety of needs after getting hit hard in free agency, and could go in a number of directions with their first-round choice. General manager Dave Gettleman said recently that wide receiver, offensive tackle and cornerback are among the teams top needs, but qualified that statement by adding he wont got out of his way to land one. "When you reach for a position of need youre in trouble," he said. Gettleman said he has some reservations about drafting a receiver in the first round because it often takes them longer to adjust to the NFL game than those who play other positions. "History tells you that its a very difficult position to assimilate into (the NFL), especially with the current game being played at the college level," Gettleman said. Gettleman called it a "wide receiver heavy" draft that includes several players whove put up big numbers. He said the trick is finding guys who can easily make the transition to the next level. "Ill look at a guy and hes caught 90 balls ... but of those 45 were flash screens," Gettleman said. "The other 45 he caught, he ran to three spots. So, do they understand coverage? Theyre going to have to learn the whole route tree. How long is it going to take them to assimilate? Its an issue. Its a problem." Smith was released in a salary cap move earlier this off-season. Replacing his toughness and production wont be easy. He caught 836 passes for 12,197 yards and 67 touchdowns for the Panthers in 13 seasons. However, after averaging 76 receptions for 1,284 yards receiving and 5.5 touchdowns in his first two seasons playing with quarterback Cam Newton, Smiths numbers fell off in 2013. He caught 64 passes for 745 yards and four TDs. The Panthers signed free agents Jerricho Cotchery, Jason Avant and Tiquan Underwood, but none is expected to become the next No. 1 receiver in Carolina. Five things to watch from the Panthhers in the draft: ON THE FRONT BURNER: Jordan Gross retired this off-season, leaving a huge hole at left tackle — one the Panthers potentially could address in Round 1.dddddddddddd. Gettleman said there are some tackles in the draft dont have "left tackle feet," but said that doesnt necessarily matter. "There are only so many elite tackles," he said. "There are plenty of guys playing left tackle in this league that dont have classic left tackle feet." Finding a left tackle might take on added importance given Newton is coming off ankle surgery this off-season. FIRST ROUND SUCCESS: The Panthers have had tremendous success with their first-round picks the last three seasons. They grabbed defensive tackle Star Lotulelei from Utah at No. 14 in 2013, and he looks like hes going to be around the league for quite a while. They drafted linebacker Luke Kuechly at No. 11 in 2012 and quarterback Cam Newton first overall the year before that. Kuechly was the 2013 NFL Defensive Player of the Year, while Newton was the Offensive Rookie of the Year in 2011. BLUE GOOSE: Last year, Gettleman said the Panthers needed to add some "hog mollies," or big linemen. This year, the Boston native switched gears, saying if there is a "blue goose" pass rusher available at No. 28 he wouldnt pass on him. Tough to know what a blue-winged bird native to Ethiopia has to do with building a football team, though. CORNERBACK ON RADAR: The Panthers lost starting cornerback Captain Munnerlyn to Minnesota in free agency. While they signed free agent Antoine Cason, dont rule out cornerback as an option with one of the teams top three picks. The Panthers have one pick in each of the seven rounds. DONT BE REACHING: The Panthers are determined not to reach for picks at positions of need. They followed that plan last year and took defensive tackle Kawaan Short from Purdue in the second round — even after selecting Lotulelei in the first. "Last year, K.K. (Short) was obviously the best value in that second-round pick," Gettleman said. ___ AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and http://twitter.com/AP_NFL ' ' '