Tennis: Michael Venus plays out of this world at Heineken Open

Venus took himself - and the crowd to the wire - saving three match points in the tie break before converting the first opportunity that he got. Photo / Nick Reed

Michael Venus made history at the Heineken Open last night, becoming the first New Zealander to beat an overseas player at the tournament in more than a decade.

In a thrilling encounter, Venus defeated the world No 109, Alejandro Gonzalez of Colombia, 5-7 6-3 7-6 (9-7).

Venus took himself - and the crowd - to the wire, saving three match points in the tie break before converting the first chance he got.

The 27-year-old punched a backhand winner down the line, as his opponent punched the court with his racket.

"I just took it one point at a time," Venus said soon after his win, of the drama in the tie break. "When I missed a swinging forehand to get one myself, I just tried to refocus, and then when I got my first [match point], I said, 'Mate, just be aggressive.' This is unbelievable. This is great.

"I hit it clean and as soon as it came off my racket I saw where it was going. It was a pretty good feeling."

Nearly two hours later, Venus was still buzzing from his adrenaline-surging performance.

"I don't even really know the words to describe it right now. It's just so special, especially being at home, playing a night match with a crowd like that. The coaches [and] trainers that have helped me so much the last two months, my family watching. It's just really exciting," he said.

The victory was a momentous occasion for New Zealand tennis. Apart from Rubin Statham's victory over compatriot Dan King-Turner in 2011, the last time a Kiwi male advanced to the second round was in 2002, when Mark Nielsen beat seventh seed Andreas Vinciguerra of Sweden. That was so long ago, Helen Clark still had six years to go as Prime Minister and Richie McCaw was a newcomer to the All Blacks.

Last night, Venus defied his ranking of 426 with a gutsy, skilful display. He came back from losing the first set and trailed for most of the third set tie break. He served a truckload of aces and was often devastating off the forehand wing. He showed courage to come to the net as often as possible, with his doubles experience paying dividends.

There hasn't been an atmosphere this tense at the Open for years, probably not since King-Turner pushed world No 20 Juan Ignacio Chela in 2008. We've seen a lot of dramatic games since, but it means so much more when one of your countrymen is on the court.

Every big Venus winner was greeted with a jubilant cheer, every mistake or missed opportunity met with a desperate groan. For most of the tiebreak there was an eerie silence, fans holding their breath, crossing their fingers, clenching their jaws; some could barely watch.

Venus was one shot from oblivion on three occasions but defended the match points brilliantly. He then brought up a match point with a 209km/h ace and got the crowd to their feet with the backhand strike.

Venus will play fifth-seeded Tommy Robredo in the second round in a rematch of their 2011 encounter, which the Spaniard won in three sets.

Venus joked about how Robredo had failed to recognise him this week, although last night's result is sure to jolt his memory.

"I actually had a hit with him the other day and I don't think he remembered who I was. That's all right. We'll get back out there and just give it a good crack."