Melbourne Park, 9 December 2011 | Natalie Yoannidis

It was a tough day at the office for second seed Marinko Matosevic with 16-year-old Nick Kyrgios almost stealing the show and a spot in the play-off semifinals.

Matosevic took out the match 6-3 3-6 6-4 but not before Kyrgios showed the tennis world what it has to look forward to.

The 26-year-old Matosevic said he knew very little about his opponent heading into the match.

“I didn’t know anything about him. I’d spoken to a few people but nothing much,” he said.

“He just went for it today, he was really impressive and just kept going after it. He’s got a big serve and a big game.”

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The three-set match treated fans to a blend of power and precision from both sides of the net.

It looked like it would be an easy path to the semifinals for Matosevic as he broke his younger opponent in the second game before cruising to a 3-0 lead.

Kyrgios was no match for the power and accuracy of Matosevic who wasted no time in streaming to a 5-2 lead.

The second set saw a change of fortunes for Matosevic as Kyrgios staged a spirited fightback breaking the Victorian in just the second game.

Matosevic regained his composure to break the teen back and get the score back on serve at 4-3.

This revival was short lived as Kyrgios took the second set, forcing the match into a decider.

Tensions boiled over in the third as both players began to feel the pressure of the occasion.

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Matosevic drew first blood with a break in the second game and gained a handy 2-0 lead. This was short lived when Kyrgios broke back immediately to take scores to 2-1.

It looked that Kyrgios would be the one to take the match after having two break points with the scores at 4-3.

But it was the experience of Matosevic that saw off his younger opponent with a 6-4 win in the final set.

Matosevic said the long three-set match would not have an adverse effect on his chances in tomorrow’s semifinal.

“It will be good, I got a lot of court time,” he said

“I’m pretty good physically so it means I’ll just get more used to the conditions.”

In other matches, Michael Look and JP Smith battled for the final place in the semifinals.

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Not to be outdone by Matosevic and Kyrgios, Look and Smith locked horns in a close three-set encounter, which Look took out 6-4 4-6 7-6(4).

Look said Smith was a very difficult opponent.

“He’s a crafty player and he uses your speed and depth and plays your ball against you.”

“I found towards the end if I just dominated him and not let him dictate play with his variety of shot then I felt I was in all of the rallies.”

The match was evenly poised with both players holding serve consistently with the scoreline at 4-4.

It was Look who finally scored the breakthrough, breaking Smith’s serve and eventually taking the first set 6-4.

While Look won the battle to record the first break of the first set it was Smith who won the race to hold service in the second. It took until the fourth game for this feat to occur taking scores to 3-1.

Smith took the final three games of the set to ensure he took the game to a third and deciding set.

With rain threatening to fall Smith and Look played out a third set that went to a tiebreak. Look eventually taking it out 7-4 in what was a tense baseline battle.

Look is set to play Matosevic in tomorrow’s semifinals and said he was hoping to make amends for his loss to the Victorian in last year’s play-off.

“I lost to him in the second round last year, so hopefully I’ll go out for a bit of revenge, “ he said.

“He’s an amazing player, he’s fit and fast. I’m just going to out there like I did today and try and stay aggressive and focused like I did at the end of that match.”

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