It was with a certain degree of inevitability that the first official encounter on a tennis court between Bernard Tomic and Nick Kyrgios failed to pass without a whiff of controversy. After dominating a low-key hit-out in Melbourne, Tomic ensured post-match talk would not centre on the result but rather the comical manner of his victory after he played a sneaky underarm between-the-legs serve on match point.

Tomic, who was once world No 17 but plummeted down the rankings during a period of decline that culminated in a brief appearance on a reality TV show last year, faced Kyrgios – no stranger to controversy himself – in a much-hyped pre-Australian Open exhibition match at the Kooyong Classic. Now ranked 85, Tomic proved sharper than the 51-ranked Kyrgios and put himself in a winning position with little fuss.

Needing just one more point for victory, as he settled into his service stance, Tomic dropped a ball and hit it between his legs while continuing to bounce another ball, apparently in preparation to serve in the normal fashion. The unorthodox serve bounced in on the other side of the net, catching Kyrgios – as well as the umpire and the crowd at Kooyong – completely off guard.

After a moment of deliberation, the umpire announced game, set and match to Tomic, leaving Kyrgios to laugh in bewilderment and shake his head as he moved off the court. “I don’t think there has ever been a player like BT,” Kyrgios said afterwards. “It is great to see him back out here as I know he was going through some rough times. He won a title last year and it looks like he is carrying a bit of momentum which is good to see.”

The legality of the shot was not questioned by the umpire at the time, however according to the ITF’s rules of the game, underarm serving only allowed if the ball is struck before it hits the ground. Tomic’s effort appeared to bounce off the court before his racket struck it.

The Queenslander failed to qualify for last year’s Australian Open but has won a place at next week’s tournament at Melbourne Park thanks to his improved ranking. “He looks happy, he looks healthy. That’s the main thing,” Kyrgios added. “You never want to see a talent like that go down and keep being down.”

The hit-out lacked intensity but Tomic’s performance, particularly in the first set, was impressive, albeit coming against an opponent who appeared not yet to be up to tournament speed. Tomic broke Kyrgios in the fourth game of the match before going on to claim the first set and when he broke at 3-3 in the second, there was no looking back.

The outing, and the performances of other Australians elsewhere, gave both players reason for cheer before the Australian Open. “We could make deep runs at the Australian Open, but we’ve also got Alex de Minaur [and John] Millman. We’ve got so many players. It’s an exciting time for Australian tennis,” Kyrgios said. “We’ve got such a wide variety of players. We all play different. It’s looking really really good.”

Not all onlookers were impressed with what they saw on Wednesday, however. Australian Olympian Georgie Parker labelled the efforts of the players “an absolute joke”.