DEFENDING champion Xia Jiaping of China was dumped out of the Salem Asian Championships in a third round upset at Victoria Park yesterday.
Top seeded Xia was bundled out by unknown Thai Vorapol Thongkhamchu 6-2, 7-6 (7-2) in a men's singles match on Court One.
''He played very well. I was under considerable pressure because I was number one seed,'' said disappointed 24-year-old Xia.
''I haven't had that many matches under my belt since last month's National Games. I had difficulty returning his serves.
''These kind of things always happen in tennis. It's always up and down and unfortunately it was down for me today.'' Thongkhamchu was delighted by his biggest win saying it had boosted his confidence.
''To beat the top seed is something special. I didn't think I had much of a chance against Xia because he is a well known player and was champion last year but things swung my way,'' said Thongkhamchu, who completed his victory in exactly two hours.
Xia struggled against swirling winds and the solid play of the Thai who played consistently throughout the tussle.