Bernard Tomic has received a lifeline into the Wimbledon main draw, but will be up against it when he takes on Hubert Hurkacz in the first round. Join The Roar for live scores from 8:30pm (AEST).
After qualifying for the French Open, Tomic had to go through the same way at Wimbledon, but fell at the final hurdle, losing to Ruben Bemelmans in straight sets.
It followed some impressive form where he made the semi-finals in the Netherlands at s-Hertogenbosch, beating the likes of Dustin Brown, Robin Haase and Fernando Verdasco before being brought undone by Richard Gasquet.
He then went past Matteo Donati and Tomislav Brkic in the first two rounds of qualifying, before being given a lucky losers slot into the maint draw where he will face Hurkacz.
While Tomic’s form has been up and down, he is starting to show signs of the player he can be. He has proven the damage he can do on the big stage previously, making the quarter-finals at Wimbledon in 2011.
Grass is the Australian’s favourite surface without a question and this poses as an opportunity for him to win a couple of matches and blast back into the top 100, ensuring he has automatic qualification for events during the US hard court season ahead, including the season-ending grand slam in New York.
It goes without saying there is plenty on the line for Bernie, but he won’t have it easy against Hurkacz, who has also been given a lucky losers spot in the draw after losing his final qualifying match to Christian Garin.
Hurkacz did pick up a win at the French Open and then came up with a run to the final at the Poznan Challenger, but given his highest profile win there was against Taro Daniel, it’s hard to get a read on whether his form is really at the level required to challenge Tomic.
The 21-year-old is an up and comer though, building with every passing month, and this could be somewhat of a breakout effort for him if he can get past Tomic.
Prediction
Hurkacz probably just doesn’t have the experience needed to pick up a win here. It’s hard to know exactly what you’ll get from Tomic, but he should do the job.
Tomic in four sets.
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tsuru
Roar Rookie
OK, I saw the match in replay. Tomic did enough to win. Hurkacz didn't have anything he could hurt Tomic with. His serve maybe, but in the 1st 2 sets he only got about 50% of those in. And Hurgazc didn't have a plan B when what he was doing wasn't winning him enough points. Tomic plays Nishikori next. If Nishikori plays anywhere near 90% of his best Tomic will have trouble. The good thing for Tomic is that his groundstrokes and serve are suited to grass courts. They slide or at least keep low. But he'll need to raise a couple of levels at least. Nishikori is much more mobile than Hurkacz and much more experienced.
tsuru
Roar Rookie
Whatever the quality of Hurkacz, a win for Tomic at a major is a definite step forward. I haven't yet seen the match, but hope to get it on replay. But a win at any level gives a player that little more confidence. And if Tomic is to resurrect himself in the eyes of the public (and himself) getting back some self confidence is a major part of it. I mean real internal self confidence, not braggadocio.