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Bernard Tomic made the Sydney Olympic Park Tennis Centre his battleground even as he continued his remarkable transformation from a stumbling teenager to a purposeful adult in the quest for tennis glory. The red hot player bears no resemblance to the jaded youngster that swallowed nine straight first round losses in the later part of the previous season. Bouncing with renewed commitment and vigour, the world No. 64 battled the demons within as much as his opponent to eke out a hard fought three set victory to capture his maiden title. The match turned into an absolute humdinger after Kevin Anderson showed desperate resolve to come back from a set down to level the match and force the decider. Tomic managed to brush aside the setback as he prevailed 6-3, 6-7(2), 6-3 in just inside of two hours to claim the Apia International title and the $78,800 prize money that goes with it.
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The German-born Australian, who resides in Monaco, made a confident start – holding at 15 before putting Anderson under pressure in the second game. After falling behind 0-40, the South African saved a couple of break points but Tomic converted the third to take a 2-0 lead. Tomic earned another break chance in the sixth game, but Anderson survived to stay within a break of the new Aussie hope. Serving for the set, Tomic survived a couple of anxious moments but pulled away from 30-30 to clinch it on his first set point.
Despite the setback, Anderson kept his calm to ensure he kept his step with Tomic in the second set. Anderson, playing in his fourth tour final, held at love in the seventh game before pushing Tomic into a corner in the next game. The 26-year-old forced the game to deuce, but could not convert his first break opportunity and Tomic managed to keep it level at 4-4. With the serve working like a charm, Anderson was beginning to trouble Tomic in the return games even as the Aussie started to feel the weight of a prospective first title now that he was within sniffing distance of the trophy.
The set eventually slipped into a tie-breaker though after Tomic survived another deuce in the eleventh game. But then the heavy scent of victory was suffocating the young man and his resolute legs wilted under the burden of imminent success. Mini-breaks on the third and seventh points of the breaker enabled Anderson to take the breaker 7-2 and rear his head back into the match. The swing in fortunes was built around the South African’s improved service numbers – he won 100% of his first serve points and lost just two points on serve through the 48 minute set.
Even as the tension mounted inside the Ken Rosewall Arena, the two men in the middle dug deep and found the resolve to stand firm in the fight for supremacy. A fifteen point battle for the fourth game where Anderson survived three break points and five deuces just reminded his rookie opponent that any victory at this level of professional tennis was going to be hard earned. The match was evenly poised at 2-2 in the decisive third set. The crowd in Sydney were rooting for their adopted son perched on the edge of their seats. They paid for the seats, but hadn’t bargained for the drama that was unfolding on the stage.
The set stayed on serve till the seventh game, before it was the South African who blinked first. The 6’8″ giant was serving from behind and the pressure told as he slipped to 0-40. He recovered briefly to save three break points on the run, but succumbed to the next with the lusty crowd desperately urging Tomic to squeeze out the break. The 20-year-old finally crossed the line in the next game to earn an emotional victory that promises to pave way for sustained success on the road ahead.
With each player winning 92 points, it was a tight contest that was won on wafer thin margins; it helped that the Aussie converted at least 2 of the 11 break point opportunities while saving the only point he offered his opponent to ensure he wasn’t broken through the match. Tomic has been drawn to meet Roger Federer in the third round of the Australian Open and many scribes and fans believe that the contest has the potential to turn into a totemic battle between the seasoned master and the rookie star.
The doubles title was retained by the defending champions Bob and Mike Bryan who took advantage of early breaks in both sets to trounce the newly paired Horia Tecau and Max Mirnyi 6-4, 6-4 and make a solid start to their season. The twins are regular campaigners in Sydney, having made the final on six occasions and winning in 2009, ’12 and ’13.
