Bernard Tomic has beaten Fabio Fognini 6-1, 3-6, 7-6 (9-7) in the final of the Chengdu Open for 2018, saving four match points in the process and showing the tennis world once again what he is capable of when he is motivated.
Having fallen outside of the ATP top 50 ranking in mid-2017, the controversial Aussie had been generating mostly negative headlines, with some very poor performances on-and-off the court.
The desire to compete to his potential at this point was quite evidently deserting him, as he would suddenly and inexplicably ‘tank’ in matches and lose to much lower-ranked players.
His own ranking eventually dropped as low as 243. Given the way he conducted his interviews, the things he said to the press and his indifferent perceived outlook on tennis, it was believed by many pundits that his best tennis was well and truly behind him.
Conflicting statements about his passion for the game were doing very little to win him any sympathy.
Bernard Tomic continues to underwhelm the nation. (AP/Tu Xin)
But the 25 year-old Gold Coast native who has been on the tour for nearly a decade now, has been forced to work hard in 2018.
His ranking restricting him to direct entry only into the gritty ATP challenger level tournaments, where he has been able to get more matches and court time in, but certainly has not had it all his way.
More ATP level matches have also been required of him, having to grind it out in the qualifiers, just to make an appearance in the main draws. He famously missed the Aussie open, where following a loss in the qualifiers, he told reporters he goes home to “count his millions”.
Missing the US open after losing to Thanasi Kokkinakis at the first round of qualifying was the only other major disappointment for the year, as he did manage to successfully navigate his way into the French open and Wimbledon championships. The talent has always been there, but as is so common in the sport, application of talent and consistency is what makes a champion.
Well, Tomic seems to have come up with somewhat of a champion’s blueprint if September 2018 is anything to go by, and things can surely only improve from here. Not content with winning the inaugural Rafa Nadal Open at the start of the month, a challenger-level tournament, Tomic this week managed to qualify for, and win his fourth ATP level tournament.
He had to win a total of seven matches in order to lift the trophy as a qualifier. It was his first ATP level title since 2015, landing him a valuable 250 ATP ranking points in the process, which will see his ranking rise up and well into the top 100.
But what makes his victory in this tournament even more special is the way in which he competed and fought for his points, even when he was down and out, something he will undoubtedly draw loads of inspiration and confidence from, given the result.
Granted, he had a bit of luck on the way, especially on the final tiebreaker against Fabio Fognini where was down three match points and managed to save the second with a lucky dead net cord, ultimately saving a total of four match points before getting the win. But the fact he competed and still played the points to win, giving himself every chance to create luck or force a mistake, is what he had become popular for not doing.
Ironically, against the same player in 2016 in a tournament in Madrid, and also down three match points, Tomic was heavily criticised when he was waiting to receive a serve, he playfully turned his racquet around and attempted unsuccessfully to return the ball by swinging to try to hit it with the handle, much to the dismay of the tennis world.
He was in the exact same scenario today, down match points at 3-6 in the final tie-breaker, however the thought of trying to hit the ball with the handle did not cross his mind.
He remained as focused and professional as he had been all match, and gave it a real go, having to retrieve two mini-breaks off of the Fognini serve just to get it back on serve.
He did so, and then held his nerve having to replay a serve when not noticing Fognini had his arm up to halt play.
He hit an emphatic ace to save the third match point. He then exchanged mini-breaks once again, before going ahead a mini break himself, and managed to close it out on his serve at the first time of asking.
It was fitting end, and a great case study to demonstrate what can be achieved if you give it 100 per cent.
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