A day that initially looked promising for big shocks in Malaysia eventually left most empty-handed, with only one seeded player exiting the draw.
That player was Frenchman Jeremy Chardy, who was the victim of a resurgent Benjamin Becker. The veteran German recovered from the loss of the opening set to win through 5-7, 6-1, 7-5.
The main story of the day was the intriguing matchup between Bulgarian fourth seed Grigor Dimitrov and unseeded Portuguese Joao Sousa, fresh off his runner-up effort in St Petersburg. The match marked Dimitrov’s first since his disappointing exit at the hands of Mikhail Kukushkin in the US Open second round. Sousa started a at breakneck pace, breaking twice to stun the flashy Bulgarian. First set to Sousa 6-2. Dimitrov found his game in the second set, attacking far more with his forehand, with the Sousa serve wavering. Set two to Dimitrov 6-3. The Bulgarian has struggled to match his high performances of last year, and again there were signs of unease in the final set. Sousa broke first, and led 4-2. A tense deuce game followed on the Sousa serve, and Sousa had chances to close out for a 5-2 lead. Dimitrov though, brokeback to level again. Sousa again forced break points, as he looked to regain the initiative, but this time Dimitrov held firm. The Bulgarian then demonstrated the ruthlessness of the top players by breaking, this time for the lead. Sousa to his credit kept fighting despairingly until the end, earning 0-30, but finally succumbed. Dimitrov advanced by the score of 2-6,6-3, 6-4.
Though a match against an unseeded player, the win constitutes a big success for Dimitrov. His opponent was in fine form, yet he hung in and dug out a result. A situation that is all too rare for him.
Other results saw eight seed Vasek Pospisil negotiate Nicolas Almagro’s vanquisher, Marcos Baghdatis, 7-6, 3-6, 6-3. David Ferrer came up against one of the few players on the tour older than him. The thirty-three year old Spaniard defeated thirty-six year old Radek Stepanek 7-5, 6-3. Other veterans Ivo Karlovic and Feliciano Lopez progressed courtesy of wins over Nikoloz Basilashvili and Mischa Zverev respectively. Seventh seed Nick Kyrgios continued his serene progress with a straightforward 6-3, 6-2 win over Tatsuma Ito.
