Bernard back in business
No wildcard, no worries for Bernard Tomic as the teenage hot shot secured his own ticket into the Medibank International Sydney main draw on Sunday.
A dual junior grand slam champion, Tomic said it tasted extra sweet to have earned his own way into the main draw.
Especially after reeling off a hat-trick of victories over top-100 opponents for the first time.
Before taking down Kubot, Tomic ousted world No.100 Igor Kunitsyn and the 58th-ranked Michael Berrer without conceding a set.
“It’s always a good feeling when you qualify for a tournament,” he said.
“I definitely played really good. There were a few good players that I had to beat.”
Tomic will play Alexandr Dolgopolov in the opening round, with another win likely to vault him into a showdown with American top seed Sam Querrey.
Ranked 208th in the world, Tomic has long been hailed as the great hope of Australian tennis and 2010 looms as a big year in his pro career.
“No-one can put more pressure [on me] right now than I can on myself,” he said.
“I put those things aside and I always do. Tennis is my main priority and that’s what I focus on and that’s what I’m doing here and I’ll continue to do that.”
