Kukushkin strikes blow for Kazakhstan

MELBOURNE: World number 92 Mikhail Kukushkin wrote his name in Kazakh history with the country's best ever male performance at a grand slam Saturday, thanks to a bizarre victory over injury-hit Gael Monfils.

Kukushkin capitalised on a back problem which drastically restricted the athletic Monfils to take a two-set lead, but then was unable to press his advantage.

The resulting exchange was watched in puzzlement as restricted Monfils could only parry Kukushkin's shots at half-pace, but the bemused Kazakh was continually unable to find winners.

The match on raucous Margaret Court Arena was interrupted when a large yellow ball bounced down from the stands, while Kukushkin nearly accidentally hit a ballboy with his racquet.

And at the end of the match, the Kazakh was accused by the umpire of conferring with his team over a Hawk-Eye challenge before he finally closed it out 6-2, 7-5, 5-7, 1-6, 6-4.

Kukushkin finished with a whopping total of 72 unforced errors and just nine break points converted out of 26 chances.

But whatever the manner of the victory, 24-year-old Kukushkin becomes the first man from Kazakhstan to reach the last 16 of a grand slam, where he will face two-time runner-up Andy Murray of Britain. (AFP)