Number two seed Anthony Ricketts was sensationally eliminated from the Virtual Spectator Bermuda Masters yesterday thanks to a superb, breakthrough performance from Malaysia's Ong Beng Hee.

It took the 2003 Logic Bermuda Open champion only 55 minutes to defeat the world number five from Australia in straight games - a result being heralded as perhaps the most significant of his career.

It is no secret that Ong - the former world junior champion - has struggled over the past couple of years to do his talent justice on the senior tour and he was honest enough to admit before the tournament that his confidence was in need of a major win in a major event.

And though his opponent was clearly off the boil during yesterday's day session at BHS, moving sluggishly and arguing incessantly with the referee, Ong was absolutely magnificent throughout and fully deserved to triumph.

“To beat Anthony in such a big tournament is fantastic for me and does a lot for my confidence,” he said afterwards, while basking in the warm affection of a crowd who had clearly taken to the personable 14th seed from Penang.

“I was actually extremely nervous before the match today as I knew how important it was for me to win - but I tried not to show Anthony how nervous I really was.

“The last couple of times we've played, he has absolutely hammered me so I'm very happy that I could pull off a win today. He is obviously still jaded having only just come back from the Commonwealth Games, but I was pleased with the way I played. It has taken a long time for all the adjustments that I've made to start working, but now things seem to be coming together.

“I always seem to play well in Bermuda. In 2003 I actually won the Bermuda Open and I think I've done quite well here the last couple of years. I feel very relaxed and well looked after here which helps me a lot.”

In his mammoth, five-game first round match with Egyptian Wael El Hindi, Ong appeared somewhat tentative and out of sorts - prevailing in the end by sheer force of will and one or two fortuitous calls.

Yesterday, however, he was sharp and focused from the outset while any signs of fatigue after his first round exertions were conspicuous by their absence.

His game plan was also perfect: continually taking the pace off the ball in an effort to disrupt the high-tempo rhythm which Ricketts much prefers.

As a teenager, Ong was often accused of being purely a runner while some said he lacked the killer shots and the deception to be a major force at the highest level.

Those criticisms were well and truly blown out of the water in the first game however, as the Malaysian sent his athletic opponent the wrong way on countless occasions with a delicate late flick of the wrist on both sides of the court.

But the one thing you can never accuse Ricketts of is a lack of effort, and it was this unbridled determination to run down every ball that kept him in the first game and took the score to 9-9 - though a costly tinned drop shot handed Ong the initiative and ultimately the game 11-9.

This pattern of attack and defence continued in the second, and it was more than obvious by now that all was not as it should have been with the number two seed.

Never shy on any day of exchanging pleasantries with the referee, the 27-year-old was even more agitated than usual - to the extent, in fact, where his anger was clearly disrupting his concentration.

His mood was not helped by the impeccable, unforgiving Ong, who mixed tight, loopy length with some dreamy drop volleys to take the second 11-7.

Ricketts predictably upped the pace in the third and looked at one stage as if he was about to get into his stride with the score at 4-4 and then 9-9.

Yet once again he failed to deliver the goods on the crucial points, giving Ong the match 12-10 in the third.

The Malaysian's triumph, meanwhile, was one of two upsets that took place during the day session in front of a crowd of around 400 people.

France's Gregory Gaultier, the 11th seed, was impressive during his straight games victory over Australian Jo Kneipp in the first round.

And he was even better yesterday against the 2004 Bermuda Open champion Lee Beachill of England, running his jaded looking opponent into the ground in four games 11-5, 11-5, 5-11, 11-7.

Gaultier and Ong will now face each other tonight in the tournament's quarter-finals, beginning at 7.30 p.m. on the all-glass court at BHS.