Spanish second seed Feliciano Lopez crashed out of the $450,000 ATP Chennai Open on Thursday in a stunning second-round loss to qualifier Aljaz Bedene of Slovenia.
The world number 14 looked rusty in his first match of the season as he tamely went down 6-4, 6-4 to the 156th-ranked Bedene in an hour and 25 minutes at the Nungambakkam tennis stadium.
“He played a great match and he was a better player than me in this match,” Lopez said of his unfancied opponent.
“I know it is always tough to play the first match of the season because you are not confident, you need to adjust. But credit to him because he was very consistent.”
Lopez, 33, revealed he had been sick last week but refused to use that as an excuse.
“Nothing worked for me today,” he said. “My serve and volley was not working and I was also not moving well from the baseline. I need to work on my game. Hopefully I will be ready for the (Australian) Open.
“I had a great year so my expectations were higher. I wanted to start the new year in a good mood. But my game made me angry and left me frustrated.”
Bedene was excited after winning what he said was “the best match of my career.”
“I have never beaten such a high-ranked player before, so obviously this was very special,” the 25-year-old said.
“I was more solid on the baseline and I read his serves well. I was also feeling good with my serves. Overall, I think I played a very good match.”
Bedene felt that coming through the qualifying round gave him an advantage against Lopez, who took to the court for the first time after being handed a bye into the second round.
“It always helps to be familiar with the conditions,” he said. “It was my fifth match and it was his first. So that was an advantage for sure.”
Two other Spaniards, third seed Roberto Bautista-Agut and number five Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, advanced to the quarter-finals.
The 15th-ranked Bautista-Agut proved too strong for number 102 Peter Gojowczyk of Germany, cruising to a 6-3, 6-2 win in an hour and 10 minutes.
Bautista-Agut, a finalist in Chennai in 2013, struggled with his first serve and double-faulted four times, but six aces and strong volleys from the baseline helped him dominate the German.
The 31-year-old Garcia-Lopez fought back after losing the first set to oust Tatsuma Ito of Japan 6-7 (1-7), 6-2, 6-0 in two hours on an outside court.
“My game picked up as the match went on, so I am happy the way it went in the end,” said Garcia-Lopez, who finished 36th last year.
“At my age, I probably have to work harder than others.”
In Friday’s quarter-finals, Garcia-Lopez will take on Bedene.
Taiwanese veteran Yen Hsun-Lu rode past Pablo Carreno-Busta of Spain 6-4, 6-4 in 73 minutes to set up a quarter-final clash against Bautista-Agut.
The tournament, which also features world number four and defending Australian Open champion Stanislas Wawrinka of Switzerland, will earn the winner on Sunday $73,400 and 250 ranking points.