American Mardy Fish has become the first top 10 seeded male player to be dumped out of the Australian Open after falling to Alejandro Falla on Wednesday.
Colombia’s Alejandro Falla recorded the first big upset in the men’s draw at the 2012 Australian Open, ousting world number eight Mardy Fish 7-6(4), 6-3, 7-6(6) on Wednesday in Melbourne.
Fish saved two match points as he was down 6-4 in the tie-break, but the world number 71 got the mini-break back and closed out the victory over the top American at the third time of asking.
It marked Falla’s third career win over a Top 10 player (3-14) and his first since defeating a number nine-ranked Tommy Haas in 2007 at Miami.
Falla’s other Top 10 came win over Nikolay Davydenko in 2006 at Wimbledon. Four years later at the All England Club, he came famously close to knocking out Roger Federer in the first round, serving for the match at 5-4 in the fourth set, before the Swiss came back to win with a fifth set bagel.
"He's a good player," commented Fish, who committed 58 unforced errors. "He was up two sets to love against Roger at Wimbledon. The guy can play. I wasn't shocked that I was in that position [of down two sets], but I didn't like to be in that position.
“I certainly didn't play as well in the first round than today. But you're in that position and you've got to battle. You've got to fight. I tried but it didn't work out."
