Can Bernard Tomic become the 1st Australian in the men’s draw, since Lleyton Hewitt in 2005, to make the quarter finals of the Australian Open?
Find out as The Roar live blogs his match against Tomas Berdych with love scores from around 3:00pm AEDT.
For the first since 2012 Australia has two male players in the 4th round of the Australian Open.
On that last occasion, Bernard Tomic was one of them, as he made the 4th round for the first time.
Today he has a chance to improve on that, and make his second quarter final, in a Grand Slam event.
In 2011, in his second appearance in the main draw at Wimbledon, Tomic would announce his arrival on the tennis stage with a quarter final appearance at the All England Club.
Standing between him, and his first quarter final in Australia, is Tomas Berdych.
Berdych, the world number 7, is chasing his 5th straight final 8 appearance at the Australian Open.
Not since the 2010 open, when he made the 2nd round, has the Czech number 1 missed a quarter final.
It will be a tough match for Tomic.
Berdych hasn’t lost a set so far in the event. He has averaged 12 aces, and 41 winners, in each match as well. His power game is devastating when it is on song.
Tomic on the other hand, has fought through three tough battles, to progress to today.
Against Tobias Kamke in the opening round, Tomic lost the second set, before powering home in four sets.
It also took the Australian four sets to defeat Philipp Kohlschreiber in the 2nd round. In the third round, against fellow Australian, Sam Groth, Tomic played one of his best matches at the Australian Open.
He made just 8 unforced errors and returned impressively against the fastest server in the world.
Today’s match will all be about the power, and the serve of each player.
How Tomic handles the power of Berdych will be the key to the match.
In the previous two meetings between the two, both at Wimbledon, 4 of the 8 sets went to tiebreakers.
On each occasion, Berdych won in 4 sets.
Their last meeting was last year in Wimbledon. Tomic, still suffering from the hip surgery he had in Februay, was competitive for two sets before falling to the world number 7.
I expect today’s match to be much closer. Tomic has improved considerably in movement and fitness.
His serve has also been one of the best in the tournament so far.
He is 10th in aces with 57, 1st in 1st serves in, and 6th in break points saved.
When he gets his 1st serve in, he wins 78% of the points. If he plays like that today, then he will win sets, and trouble Berdych.
This match has 5 sets all over it.
The crowd, and the improved fitness, will help Tomic a lot.
I predict him to win sets today and he can defeat Berdych.
If he can handle the power of Berdych, which I believe he can, with his improved mobility then he is a chance of winning.
It is one of those matches that could be a classic encounter.
Let’s hope for Australia’s sake, on Australia Day weekend, that Tomic can break the 10 year drought of having an Australian in the quarter finals.
PREDICTION – Bernard Tomic 3-2
Shane Jones
Roar Guru
A slice goes into the net from Tomic. He is out of the Australian Open. Tomas Berdych wins the match in straight sets. That was a powerful performance. BERDYCH 6 7 6 TOMIC 2 6 2
Shane Jones
Roar Guru
Backhand winner down the line. Match Point for Berdych.
Shane Jones
Roar Guru
Tomic has a game point. Berdych saves it with a forehand winner. Deuce.
Shane Jones
Roar Guru
Berdych has 15-30. He is two points away from the win.
Shane Jones
Roar Guru
We have to remember he's still coming back from a hip injury. The movement and the fitness are coming back. He's got the game for top 20, not question. His commitment though is the big question. He also needs to perform well for 12 months of the year. Not for just three months.
Shane Jones
Roar Guru
Berdych holds. He is one game away from a 5th consecutive quarter final at the Australian Open. BERDYCH 6 7 5 TOMIC 2 6 2
Shane Jones
Roar Guru
Tomic goes for a shot but it goes wide. 40-30 to Berdych.
Shane Jones
Roar Guru
Berdych puts a shot into the net. 30-30. Chance for Tomic here.
Benny
Guest
I feel like Tomic can probably beat everybody up to around 8-10 in the world, and then those players can just deal with his play a lot more. If he can fix his movement up a bit than he can break into there and beat those guys, but at the moment he just seems a bit soft for them. I think he's definitely a top 15 or 20 players right now though if he decides to try overseas
Shane Jones
Roar Guru
Tomic holds to love. 4-2. BERDYCH 6 7 4 TOMIC 2 6 2
Shane Jones
Roar Guru
Berdych holds to love. 4-1 to the Czech number 1. He finishes the game with an ace. BERDYCH 6 7 4 TOMIC 2 6 1
Shane Jones
Roar Guru
The Aussie holds and is one the board in the third set. He just needs to attack Berdych's serve and see what happens. BERDYCH 6 7 3 TOMIC 2 6 1
Shane Jones
Roar Guru
Tomic survives.
Shane Jones
Roar Guru
From 30-0 up Tomic loses the next three points. Berdych has a break point for a 4-0 lead. 30-40.
Shane Jones
Roar Guru
Berdych consolidates the break. 3-0 in the third set. This could be over quickly. BERDYCH 6 7 3 TOMIC 2 6 0
Shane Jones
Roar Guru
A backhand down the line is out. Only just out. Berdych breaks. He leads 2-0 in the third set. BERDYCH 6 7 2 TOMIC 2 6 0
Shane Jones
Roar Guru
Berdych punishes a second serve and gets a third break point.
Shane Jones
Roar Guru
Tomic saves the break point.
Shane Jones
Roar Guru
Tomic has a game point but it is saved. Berdych brings up a second break point. Adv. Berdych.
Shane Jones
Roar Guru
A good first serve saves it.