Davydenko suffers Malaysian shock

Davydenko has been slipping down the rankings in recent weeks

Defending champion Nikolay Davydenko suffered a shock exit from the Malaysian Open after losing his second-round match to qualifier Igor Andreev.

Davydenko, who was given a bye in the first round, was beaten 7-6 (7-5) 5-7 6-3 by his fellow Russian.

The world number six missed part of the year to undergo wrist surgery and has struggled for form since his return.

He is now close to dropping out of the world's top 10 as he heads to another title defence, in Shanghai in October.

"If I can't defend in Shanghai, I'll drop out of the top 10," the 29-year-old admitted.

Andreev won his first meeting with Davydenko in 2003 in Bucharest but had lost all three encounters since.

Trailing 5-1 in the first set tie-break, Andreev burst into gear with some impressive forehands, rattling off six points in a row to steal it.

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In stifling heat in Kuala Lumpur, Davydenko hit back to force a decider but Andreev continued to play an aggressive game and his opponent finally wilted.

"I played better than expected and even I'm surprised I won today," Andreev, number 102 in the world, said.

"My forehand really paid off today and I think that was the difference between us."

Andreev's reward is to take on Milos Raonic on Friday after the Canadian beat seventh-seeded Sergiy Stakhovsky in three sets to reach his first ATP quarter-final.

Among the seeds that did manage to win their matches on Wednesday were Mikhail Youzhny, David Ferrer and Marcos Baghdatis.

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