Jordan Thompson has overcome a slow start to account for fellow Australian Chris O'Connell in the first round of the Australian Open warm-up tournament in Melbourne.
World No.75 Thompson looked like he had to shake off holiday malaise to secure a 1-6 7-5 6-4 over O'Connell, who is ranked 100 places lower.
The Sydneysiders are regular practice partners and O'Connell looked to have his mate's measure early on, requiring just 21 minutes to wrap up the first set.
But Thompson, who was forced to withdraw from last year's Australian Open first round with a neck injury, was able to come up with the goods in the clinch moments to secure the gripping victory.
He will face either Emil Ruusuvuori of Finland or Argentina's Sebastian Baez in the ATP 250 tournament's second round.
At 61, top-ranked Australian for the tournament, Alexei Popyrin, begins his campaign against Italy's Stefano Travaglia later on Wednesday.
Rinky Hijikata, 20, is up against American Maxime Cressy and will go into the match high in confidence after an impressive run in qualifying.
Ranked 375, Hijikata upset world No.105 American Denis Kudla 6-1 7-5.
