Austrlian Marinko Matosevic produced the first upset in the Malaysian Open on Tuesday when he downed eighth-seeded compatriot Nick Kyrgios 7-6 (7/4), 7-6 (7/3) in just over 90 minutes. Matosevic, 29, who had never played Kyrgios before, found his 19-year-old rival's hard-hitting serve difficult to deal with in the first set, conceding five break points to trail 6-5. But he countered with some solid groundstrokes to force the set into a tie-break which he eventually clinched 7-4.
Kyrgios, cheered on by the 200-odd crowd because of his Malaysian roots, powered back in the second set to take a 4-2 lead, but Matosevic remained calm and played the experience card by forcing Kyrgios into numerous unforced errors. Matosevic's powerful and accurate forehand drives to the baseline caught Kyrgios out on many occasions, enabling him to recover and level the match at 5-5. This prompted a frustrated Kyrgios to smash his racquet on the ground which led to a penalty foul.
Sensing his opponent's agitation, Matosevic, the world number 78, forced a tie-break before sealing victory to move into the second round where he will face Japan's Go Soeda. Matosevic, whose last match was against Roger Federer in the US Open, was a relieved figure after notching a morale-boosting win against the home crowd favourite.