Georgia’s Nikoloz Basilashvili defeats tennis world top 10 player Thomas Berdych

Georgia's leading tennis player Nikoloz Basilashvili has defeated world number 10 player Thomas Berdych at a prestigious tennis tournament in Austria this week.

On Monday Basilashvili played a sensational match at the Erste Bank Open tournament when he eliminated Berdych from the competition.

The tournament launched on October 22 in Austria's capital Vienna. The Singles Main Draw, in which Basilashvili is competing, featured 32 players from around the world and included several famous names.

Some of the world's best players are competing at the tournament; this includes Scotland's three-time Grand Slam winner Andy Murray, Spain's five singles-title champion Guillermo Garcia-Lopez and Czech Republic's 2010 Wimbledon finalist Thomas Berdych.

Georgia's Nikoloz Basilashvili returns ball against Czech Republic's Thomas Berdych in the first round of the Erste Bank Open tournament on Monday. Photo from Bildagentur Zolles KG.

Georgia's Basilashvili was selected as one of the 32 players who kicked off the main draw matches on October 24.

The 24-year old Georgian faced Berdych, who is currently ranked 10th in the official Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) world ranking, in the first round.

The match ran for two hours and 35 minutes and spanned over three sets. After a long, tough slog Basilashvili emerged victorious with a final score of 6-4, 6-7, 7-5.

Basilashvili's performance against Berdych – who was seeded 9th for the Vienna competition – grabbed sports headlines around the world and saw the Georgian progress to the Last 16 round of the Erste Bank Open.

Before eliminating the Czech Republic's hopeful, Basilashvili - ranked as world's number 107 – also overcame Brazil's Thomaz Bellucci and Romania's Radu Albot in the qualifying stage of the competition.

Basilashvili will next face Russia's Karen Khachanov in the Last 16 round. The match is scheduled to be played on October 27.

The Erste Bank Open tournament will continue until October 30.