11th seed Juan Monaco has become the most high-profile casualty on the opening day of the Australian Open, crashing out in straight sets to Andrey Kuznetsov.
Both players looked strong on serve in the early exchanges as the first set was decided by a tense tie-break.
Monaco was the first to buckle, giving away a pair of cheap points as Kuznetsov claimed the first set.
The world number 79 never looked back as Monaco capitulated in spectacular style, winning just a single game in the second set.
Monaco failed to recover in the third as Kunzetsov ruthlessly punished the disappointing seed to claim a major Grand Slam scalp 7-6 6-1 6-1.
Written by
Liam Power
Liam Power
