Chengdu, Sichuan, China, 30 September 2016 | AAP

Aussie tennis star Nick Kyrgios has lost a one-set lead over South African Kevin Anderson to fall in his opening match at the Chengdu Open in China.

Kyrgios, the tournament’s second seed, dropped the match to Anderson 3-6 7-6(6) 6-2 in just over 90 minutes, with the final set lasting just 20.

Kyrgios held two match points up 6-4 in the tiebreak, only for Anderson to reel off four straight points and send the match into a third.

A near-unplayable Anderson ripped through the deciding set, losing only two points on serve to a despondent Kyrgios, who could do little to counter the South African’s booming serve.

Anderson finished Kyrgios off by taking three straight games from 3-2 up in the final set.

He is into the quarterfinals where he will face Serbian sixth-seed Viktor Troicki who beat Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis 6-3 4-6 6-2.