Bernard Tomic's push for a top-15 ranking has stalled with a second-round loss to veteran Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis at the Stockholm Open.
Baghdatis upset Tomic 7-6 (9-7) 6-3 on Wednesday, also spoiling the Australian No.1's 23rd birthday celebrations.
Baghdatis admitted he used his "brain a lot" to outsmart the world No.18 in a blow to Tomic's hopes of securing an all-important top-16 seeding for the Australian Open in January.
"You need to be smart on court and not hurry too much. I think I did it very well," said Baghdatis, the 2006 Australian Open runner-up now ranked 44th.
Tomic's defeat also denied him a 10th quarter-final spot of the year and came after fellow Australian John Millman also crashed out of the tournament.
Luxembourg's big-serving left-hander Gilles Muller fired 14 aces to see off Millman 7-5 6-3 in 76 minutes.
In other matches, American seventh seed Jack Sock beat Spaniard Fernando Verdasco 7-6 (7-5) 6-7 (5-7) 6-4.
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