Jenson Brooksby eliminated No 2 seed Casper Ruud 6-3, 7-5, 6-7 (4), 6-2 in the second round of the Australian Open on Thursday in Rod Laver Arena, meaning a pair of Californians have knocked out the top two players in the men’s bracket.

The 22-year-old Brooksby’s surprise came in the same round and on the same court that 27-year-old Mackenzie McDonald defeated No 1 seed and defending champion Rafael Nadal on Wednesday at the year’s first Grand Slam tournament.

Brooksby, who made the semifinals at the ASB Classic, where Ruud lost his first match, is ranked 39th and making his Australian Open debut. Ruud was the runner-up at the French Open to Nadal last June and at the US Open to Carlos Alcaraz last September.

Brooksby’s unusual playing style, including his two-handed backhand volleys, and ability to track down opponent’s shots, were trouble for Ruud, who took a medical timeout after the second set.

The biggest problem for Brooksby was closing this one out. He held a trio of match points while trying to serve out the victory at 5-3 in the third set but could not cash any of them in.

After he got broken there by missing a backhand, Brooksby sat down in his changeover seat and yelled at himself: “How?! How?! God!”

Ruud, a 24-year-old Norwegian, raced through the end of that set, but Brooksby righted himself in the fourth, jumping out to a 3-0 lead. Brooksby finished things off one hour and 15 minutes after his first chance.

Other seeds knocked out in the men’s side included 23rd seed Diego Schwartzman and No 30 Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, while fifth seed Andrey Rublev advanced in four sets.

In the women’s draw, fifth seed Aryna Sabalenka cruised through, beating Shelby Rogers 6-3, 6-1, while No 26 Elise Mertens also comfortably advanced.

However, there were troubles for 16th seed Anett Kontaveit, who lost in three sets, while ninth seed Veronika Kudermetova lost in three sets to qualifier Katie Volynets, who had been beaten by Venus Williams in the opening round of the ASB Classic earlier this month.

No 18 Liudmila Samsonova also departed, being crushed 6-3, 6-0 by Donna Vekic.

Elsewhere, there have been mixed returns for the New Zealanders in the doubles draws.

Michael Venus and partner Jamie Murray cruised through their first-round match, with the 11th seeds beating Cristian Rodriguez and Hunter Reese 6-4, 6-2.

Fellow Kiwi Erin Routliffe wasn’t as impressive, with the 27-year-old and partner Alicja Rosolska going into the tournament as 14th seeds but being immediately bundled out 6-4, 6-1 by Anna Bondar and Greet Minnen.

-With AP