Spaniard Carlos Moya tonight became the first big casualty in the men's draw at the Australian Open.

American Mardy Fish, ranked 81st in the world at the end of last year, beat the tournament fifth seed for the second time in as many weeks 3-6 7-6 (10-8) 6-4 4-6 6-2.

Fish also dispatched Moya at the Sydney International.

Moya was the first of the top 10 men's seeds to fall, while Fish will now meet South African Wayne Ferreira.

Moya had an injured elbow at the end of last year and said he felt underdone for his Australian trip, but added there were no excuses.

"It's the same thing for everybody, so it's not an excuse, but to me, I don't think it's good to be here in the second week of the year," he said.

"If I was able to play at the level I was playing at the end of last year, for sure it would have been a different story in one of those matches.

"It's not normal (that) I lose two times in a row in consecutive weeks to a player who's ranked 90 or 80-something.

"It means something is not working, but it's just the beginning of the year."

There was much debate leading into this tournament about whether the Open should be moved to February or March.

But Fish, who had a good off-season, could not be happier.

"It was pretty reassuring to know that I can beat a guy like that twice in a row," he said.

"It tells me a lot about my game and how far I've come and how hard I've worked in this off-season.

"It's really paying off right now."

Fish described the two wins over Moya as a career highlight.

A television station in his home state of Minnesota once tagged him the best two-year-old player in the world.

Fish, whose father is a teaching pro, was able to hit balls over the net from the base line at that age.

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