Lu shocks Nalbandian

David Nalbandian became the highest-profile casualty in the men’s draw as he crashed out in the second round of the Australian Open today.

The number 10 seed was ousted by Taiwan’s Yen-Hsun Lu 6-4 5-7 4-6 6-4 6-2 in an epic battle which lasted five minutes short of four hours.

Nalbandian saved three match points at 5-2 down but could not convert the six break-point chances he had and Lu finally fired a winner down the line to seal a famous win.

It is the first time the world number 61 has made it into the third round of a grand slam event and he was clearly delighted.

“It’s a big step for me to be in the third round in a grand slam. I’m really happy,” Lu said.

“I just had nothing to lose today, because he’s a top 10 player and I’m 61 in the world and I have no pressure on me.

“I just went out on court and played my game and it wasn’t about who is better (in the rankings). Today, for sure I had a better performance than him. I think I served more consistently than him and after the fourth set and in the final set I was playing more aggressively than him.”

Nalbandian had no excuses for his performance.

“He just played great today, better than me, and that was enough to give him the victory,” the Argentinian said.

“I didn’t play badly. All the sets I started a break down and then I always had to fight to come back and it wasn’t easy. He played very well.”

Lu’s heroics have earned him a third-round date with 21st seed Tommy Robredo, who beat Viktor Troicki 6-1 6-3 6-0.