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. "Monfils played a strange game, because he was playing a lot of slow balls and slices and especially here in Melbourne, with slow courts and a lot of wind it's tough to play against players like this," Kukushkin said. Monfils admitted he was "lucky" to force the fifth set, and was playing purely on adrenaline brought on by the crowd.