Tomic goes past Gulbis
Australian Bernard Tomic, seeded 15th, has dominated fading Latvian Ernests Gulbis 6-3 6-4 to make a winning debut at the ATP 500 event in Barcelona.
Tomic, who at 19 is the youngest man in the field in the Catalan capital, spent 67 minutes in handing one-time prodigy Gulbis another ATP disappointment.
The 2010 Barcelona quarterfinalist has slipped to No.86 in the rankings after standing a career-best 21st just 14 months ago.
Tomic, who won a round in Monte Carlo last week but lost his next match to Ukrainian talent Alexandr Dolgopolov, was pleased with a winning start in the hotbed of Spanish tennis.
“I played well from the first game,” said the Australian. “I was able to play my game.
“I served well and got more comfortable on the clay. I’m moving better and feeling better. I’m playing well right now.”
