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South African qualifier Kevin Anderson (pictured) scored the biggest win of his young career Friday as he defeated No. 3 and defending Sony Ericsson Open champion Novak Djokovic 7-6(1), 3-6, 6-4, in the second round.

It's the earliest exit by a defending champion since Andre Agassi lost to Scott Draper in his opening round match in 1997.

The 21-year-old Johannesburg native just made it into the qualifying draw hours before the deadline on Sunday evening when there a few withdrawals. Now he finds himself in the third round of his first career ATP Masters Series tournament.

Both players held serve in the opening set and Anderson dominated the tie-break, winning the last six points. In the second set, Djokovic broke in the fifth and ninth games to level the match. In the third set, Djokovic seemed in control, breaking to go up 2-0 but he then lost four straight games, including a love-game at 2-2. Anderson then held his last three service games to close out the two hour and 21 minute match.

Although Djokovic broke Anderson three times, the 20-year-old Serb was impressed with his opponent.

"It was our first meeting, and I never saw him playing before," said Djokovic, who is now 17-4 on the season. "He surprised me with the way he was serving. I wasn't moving on my returns good enough, and obviously that resulted in easy service games. He was winning too easy in the first set his service games, and I wasn't aggressive enough. Then when I needed to use my chances in the third set, I made some unforced errors which were really crucial."

"I made some unforced errors and I was maybe going for too much. Obviously, he's really tall, and with that height you expect him not to move so well. But he obviously has a good coordination. He has a good feel for the ball. So he's a good player."

"I really don't know even what to say right now," said Anderson, who reached his first ATP final in Las Vegas earlier this month. "I really tried to give myself the best shot walking in today. I kept telling myself I can do this. I've just got to believe in myself, play my game. But even still, just knowing what he's done and what a great player he is, and to have actually beaten him, I mean, it's a tremendous experience for me."

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Nicolas Kiefer became the first unseeded player to reach the third round with a 6-3, 6-2 victory over No. 25 Jarkko Nieminen. The 30-year-old German saved all five break points he faced in the 61-minute match improved his career record to 15-10 in Miami. Kiefer, a quarterfinalist in 2004, will next face No. 2 Rafael Nadal for the first time.

No. 14 Paul-Henri Mathieu rallied to defeat 19-year-old Marin Cilic 4-6, 6-1, 6-4, breaking the Croat five times in the two hour and four minute match. Mathieu, who last year defeated No. 5 ranked Fernando Gonzalez en route to the 4th Rd. (l. to Murray), trailed 0-3 in the third set before charging back.

No. 27 Radek Stepanek beat 1999 Miami finalist Sebastien Grosjean 6-3, 6-3, breaking an 0-3 career mark against the Frenchman. The 28-year-old Czech Republic native, who saved all four break points he faced, improved to 13-6 on the season.

No. 31 and 2007 ATP Comeback Player of the Year Igor Andreev defeated Michael Berrer 6-2, 6-1 to advance to the third round for the third time in four years. Andreev converted four of eight break points while never losing his serve.

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