The exit of Andy Murray and the pepper-spraying of a few rowdy Greeks apart, the first five days of the 2008 Australian Open had followed a routine pattern. Then, in an extraordinary sequence yesterday, Marcos Baghdatis, a Cypriot, appeared on YouTube chanting anti-Turkish slogans, a spring arrived in the step of the hosts that no one could have expected and a little German with a long name became the talk of the sport.

The day’s play ended at 2.06am with Andy Roddick’s all-too-familiar sense of crushed ambition. Even though Philipp Eberhard Hermann Kohlschreiber had won the title in Auckland the previous week, finished last year with a career-high ranking of No 32 and had made his debut for Germany in the Davis Cup, few would have believed that he could play with the sustained brilliance that drove Roddick out in the third round.

Actually the Germans thought so, especially Patrick Kühnen, their team captain, who had stuck out his neck and prophesied this outcome. Even he may not have believed his eyes as Kohlschreiber withstood a battering of 42 aces, sent down 32 of his own and maintained an impressive level of self-belief and backhand glories. Roddick had saved four match points, the first when HawkEye confirmed a winner and three with aces, but could not keep brushing off the 24-year-old and was edged out 6-4, 3-6, 7-6, 6-7, 8-6.

Baghdatis meets Lleyton Hewitt in the third round of the men’s singles today, a match for which the Cypriot could do without any distractions. One has come through loud and clear, though, with the airing of a video that shows him in the company of a number of the Hellas Fan Club who were sprayed by police a couple of days ago over their behaviour during a match involving a Greek player.

Baghdatis was seen holding a flare and chanting “Turks out” at a local barbecue last year.

“I was supporting the interest of my country while protesting against a situation that is not recognised by the United Nations,” the No 15 seed said. “Now I would like to concentrate on the tournament and ask everyone to respect that. I love the Australian Open and want to do well here.”

Talk about a change of pace. Even the umpires wanted the tempo quickened. Maria Sharapova and Rafael Nadal were warned for wasting time in their respective first sets - only 20 seconds are supposed to elapse between the completion of one point and the start of the next - but that merely galvanised both into upsetting the composure of their opponents.

Sharapova rattled off the ensuing nine games to defeat Elena Vesnina, her fellow Russian, 6-3, 6-0 and Nadal pulled himself around to save six set points in the opener and finally see off Gilles Simon, of France, 7-5, 6-2, 6-3.

As the roof was closed on some welcome summer rain, Casey Dellacqua, of Australia, stunned Amélie Mauresmo, the former champion and world No 1 from France, 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 in a flurry of celebrated shots. It was a result that could seriously alter the panorama of the women’s game.

Dellacqua stayed strong when she might have folded and it was Mauresmo, not averse to the odd mental melt-down, who slipped away. Dellacqua becomes Australia’s No 1 woman player and Jelena Jankovic, the No 3 seed, awaits.

Mauresmo, the Wimbledon champion in 2006, has been whispering that if she is not a contender in the big tournaments often enough this year, she will stroll off to her château in the sun. This was the kind of reverse she had in mind.

Somewhere, a former British champion was raising a glass to Dellacqua’s success. James Trotman, the boys’ doubles champion with Martin Lee in 1997, works for Tennis Australia and has been instrumental in Dellacqua’s transformation from a girl who carried too much weight to the toned, spirited, confident player who ransacked Mauresmo’s ambitions.

Heaven and Hellas

- The Hellas Fan Club is a staunchly patriotic Melbourne-based organisation for supporting Greek sports teams and competitors. Its origins lie in the 2002 Australian Open. It now boasts an estimated 1,000 members in Melbourne.

- Marcos Baghdatis is a hero of the club. During his run in the 2005 Australian Open, he bought tickets for eight club members for his sold-out fourth-round clash with Roger Federer, according to the group’s website.

- The club is considering legal action against the Australian police over the fracas on Tuesday in which several of its members were pepper-sprayed at Melbourne Park.