Sizzling Greg closes the Kuerten

Greg Rusedski announced his return to the big boy's league of international tennis this afternoon by beating world number one Gustavo Kuerten in an astonishing five-set thriller in the Australian Open second round.

The British number two triumphed 9-7 in the final set after a nail-biting last hour of tennis where he saved one match point and served for the match twice.

The first eleven games of the set went with serve, taking Kuerten into a 6-5 lead. And it looked to be all over for the British player when Kuerten edged to match point on the Rusedski serve. A howitzer to Kuerten's far right saved the day, however, and from there Rusedski grew in stature.

He immediately broke Kuerten to lead 7-6, playing an immaculate game that included an unstoppable drive down the line after the world number one had lobbed to the back of the court.

But having got himself within sight of the winning post, the Brit visibly faltered, double-faulting twice as he served for the match and allowing Kuerten to pull level at 7-7.

Then the drama really began. Kuerten coasted to a 40-0 lead on his own serve, but mystifyingly then lost five straight points to gift another break to his rival. This time Rusedski made no mistake, serving out the match to love and a standing ovation.

Earlier, Rusedski had started slowly. He lost the first set 6-4, with Kuerten playing some stunning groundstrokes. But then the British number two found his form, recovering to grab the second and third sets 6-4 6-3 and take a shock lead. However, Kuerten responded in the fourth, coasting it 6-2 with Rusedski visibly beginning to tire.

The win is a tribute to the turnaround in form Rusedski has achieved under the tutelage of new coach Pat Cash. Rusedski now joins British rival Tim Henman in the tournament's third round, with his hopes of making real progress considerably strengthened.