Just cruising … despite the heat, Bernard Tomic showed barely any sign of exertion in his swift execution of fellow Australian hopeful Marinko Matosevic on Tuesday. Photo: Brendan Esposito
AS SYDNEY sizzled in record temperatures, so too did a red-hot Bernard Tomic at the Sydney International on Tuesday night.
If the temperature had not still been hovering at the 40-degree mark at 6pm, the enigmatic Australian would have disposed of countryman Marinko Matosevic without raising a sweat at Homebush.
Tomic wasn't required to shift out of first gear as he continued his impressive Australian Open preparations with a win against the only Australian man inside the world's top 50.
Tomic's 6-3, 6-4 win over the world No.49 in the first round of the Sydney International comes just a week after he upset No.1 Novak Djokovic at the Hopman Cup in Perth.
''I think I'm extremely strong now,'' Tomic said. ''I played not too bad today, I'm happy with the performance leading in from the Hopman Cup. I can't ask for anything better.''
Questions were raised over the form of Tomic after the 20-year-old was bundled out of three consecutive ATP tour events in the first round in October.
But having taken some time off Tomic has returned an invigorated player and appears to finally be walking the walk after three Hopman Cup wins and a first-round Sydney International triumph.
He said it was the result of added dedication over the off-season. ''A lot of work, I trained a lot and really got clear for myself and what I want and how I wanted to improve,'' he said. ''It's proven the last few weeks. Hopefully I can keep this tennis up and do better.''
He broke his opponent's second service game and raced out to a 4-1 lead in the opening set, which proved too big a hurdle for Matosevic to overcome. Tomic, who has dropped 34 places from his career-best ranking to sit at No.64 in the world, won 80 per cent of his first serves as Matosevic faltered with a total of three double-faults.
It took just 35 minutes for Tomic to rack up a 6-3 first-set win, and the second came just as fast.
Matosevic had the opportunity to go to a 2-1 lead in the second set but squandered a break-point opportunity that proved costly,
Tomic went on to break the 27-year-old in the following game then cruised to a 6-4 win to set up a second-round clash on Wednesday afternoon with German veteran Florian Mayer.
Earlier, tennis legend Mats Wilander said he believed dumping Tomic from Australia's Davis Cup team would prove to be the making of the 20-year-old talent.
Tomic vowed to recommit to the sport this year after tumbling down the world rankings in a controversy-marred 2012 season that culminated in his suspension from Davis Cup duties. And seven-time Grand Slam winner Wilander believes the penny has finally dropped for Tomic.
''We all know that he is very talented and I think we all know that he needed to mature, definitely needed to work a little harder than he has in the last two years,'' Wilander said. ''But from what I read in the papers, that is exactly what he has done.
''And being taken off the Davis Cup team was probably a really good thing for him - it wakes you up and [you] realise you have to be selfish but you have to respect the game, and it seems like that is what he is doing.
''Now, as he says himself, there is really no limit, he is that talented.''
Wilander is in South Australia for the exhibition World Tennis Challenge event, along with 18-time Grand Slam winner Martina Navratilova.
Navratilova had not seen Tomic play but heard of his troubles.
''I have just seen the results. He had a pretty weak 2012, for the most part, but seems to be coming along now,'' she said on Tuesday.
''I'm not sure what is going on, he has had some issues here in Australia. I think it's just part of maturing and growing up. He definitely has the talent.''
with AAP
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