Wayne Arthurs came from two sets down to defeat Brazilian qualifier Marcos Daniel in a marathon first-round encounter at the Australian Open tonight.

Arthurs, who came into the Open under a calf injury cloud, looked like making an ignominious exit but prevailed in a third set tiebreak to come back and win 6-7 3-6 7-6 6-4 6-4 in three hours and 33 minutes.

Arthurs might have finished off the match earlier but converted just two of 15 break points for the match.

It was again his trademark booming serve that got him home, sending down 32 aces and losing just seven points for the match when he got his first serve in.

He will now meet number 28 seed Fabrice Santoro in the second round on Wednesday.

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