Bernard Tomic’s dream of an Australian Open return kicked off in fine style on Monday, with the former world No.17 winning a match at Melbourne Park for the first time in five years.
The 33-year-old upset Bolivia’s No.25 seed Hugo Dellien 6-3 6-3 in their first round qualifying match in front of a partisan and packed Aussie crowd.
N. Tszyu vs Zerafa | Friday 16 Jan from 7pm AEDT | The trash talk and bitterness come to a head when Nikita Tszyu steps into the ring to face Michael Zerafa in one of the most anticipated fights in Australian boxing history. | Order Now with Main Event on Kayo Sports
It means Tomic is two wins away from the tournament main draw, next facing Britain’s world No.185 Arthur Fery, then needing to beat either world No.127 Dino Prizmic or world No.238 Gustavo Heide in the final round of qualifying.
Tomic will fancy his chances, currently ranked No.184 in the world after spending the 2025 season travelling the world on the lower-level Challenger circuit.
He played in 35 different events – nine more than Alex de Minaur – to earn $358,800 in prize money as part of an impressive effort to revive his career.
Tomic told reporters he had “sort of left the sport a bit mentally” at his low points.
“I needed to (leave it),” he said.
“The sport was really tough for me, and I was not the best person to cope with it mentally. So I figured out a way to just like, you know what … I wanted to see if I can challenge myself and get back to the top 100 from 900 (ranking) at that stage. It’s still going to be tough. Let’s see if I can do it, huh? That’s my goal.”
Tomic’s last main draw Australian Open appearance in 2021 saw him beat Japan’s Yuichi Sugita (who retired in the third set) before losing in straight sets to Denis Shapovalov.
“It’s something that has been my sort of goal, to qualify at a slam again,” he said.
“(And) to have a bit of a run at a grand slam now. Maybe at Wimby (Wimbledon) or here. I know I’m still good enough to compete with these top guys. But it’s just a matter of surface conditions. Everything has to lay out for me at this time, at this age … I’m having fun.
“So let’s see if I can win a couple more matches here, huh?”.
A junior star, Tomic has won four ATP-level tournaments but none since the 2018 Chengdu Open.
He made the fourth round of the Australian Open three times, last in 2016, after breaking through with a quarter-final berth at Wimbledon in 2011.
Tomic was one of three Aussies to upset a qualifying seed on Monday, along with Dane Sweeny (6-2 4-6 6-3 over No.26 Andrea Pellegrino) and Olivia Gadecki (6-2 6-4 over No.22 Arantxa Rus).
Wildcards Lizette Cabrera and Tina Smith also posted straight sets victories while Edward Winter, Renee Alame, Philip Sekulic and Stefani Webb were all beaten.
The first round of qualifying continues on Tuesday with Alex Bolt, Jason Kubler, Storm Hunter and Cruz Hewitt among the Aussies in action.
Discussion about this post