Roger Federer is out at the Australian Open, but sportsmanship is IN.

Day five of the Australian Open is all about the shocking exit of four time champion Roger Federer. I was on a date night with my husband, seeing a wonderful new play Tree at the Kensington Hotel in Union Square when the match started. I rushed home to watch the fourth and final set of the surprising loss to Italian Andreas Seppi 6-4 7-6 (5) 4-6 7-6 (5).  My tennis buddy Mary Ann was frantically texting me to turn it on, recapping the score. "Roger down two set, holy moly!" My team captain Nina posted on Facebook: "I didn't see that coming."

The truth is, at the majors anything is possible, but this one does sting. For fans like Nina, it's the sad realization that at 33 years old Federer, although playing some great tennis as of late,  isn't the same.
"It was tough loosing the first two sets," said  the 17-time Grand Slam champion. "I had a chance to get back into it, I let it slip. The end wasn't pretty. It's a disappointing loss."
Even in defeat what is impressive is the class and sportsmanship on display. The way Federer congratulated his 46th ranked opponent was a genuine display of respect. A humble Seppi agree this was his finest hour.
"I just tried my best and it was one of my best matches for sure," said Seppi.
Federer isn't the only champion struggling down under. Third seed Rafael Nadal survived a five setter  yesterday against wild card American Tim Smyczek 2-6 6-3 7-6 3-6 7-5. But what has everyone talking about is the sportsmanship Smyczek demonstrated in the fifth set with Nadal serving, a fan yelled out as he tossed the ball, causing Nadal to fault. The young american, ranked 112 raised his hand asking the chair umpire to give Nadal a first serve. Commentator John McEnroe immediately praised Smyczek. "A class move by Tim there," stated McEnroe. "A class act."
Nadal echoed the sentiment. "I want to congratulate Tim. He's a real gentleman for what he did in that last game," said Nadal. "Not a lot of people will do this at 6-5 in the fifth."
For his part, the Milwaukee native downplayed his actions explaining it was the right thing to do. "It was just so blatant," Smyczek said. "It's not like he hit an ace on the next ball or anything, but I think he probably would have done the same thing if it was reversed."
Many are calling for Smyczek to receive the sportsmanship of the year award, and in every tennis site today, the comments were unanimous, sportsmanship is alive and well in the tennis world, in victory and defeat.