Newz Forum: OTHER: Malisse defeats Costa

Undseeded Belgian Xavier Malisse stunned former champion Albert Costa after an epic encounter on Sunday. The match actually began on Saturday afternoon, but carried on into Sunday after bad light brought a halt to proceedings.

Malisse won the opening set 6-4, but Costa, the 2002 champion, roared back to take the next two sets and put himself firmly in the box seat.

Malisse however, who made the fourth round here back in 2002, would not be denied and took the match into a decider on Sunday afternoon after winning a fourth set tie-break (7/4). The Belgian, who has already seen off seventh seed Rainer Schuettler this year, toughed it out in a topsey-turvey fifth set to eventually close out 6-4 2-6 4-6 7-6 (7/4) 8-6 after a marathon encounter.