Is Bernard Tomic a 2013 Australian Open Dark Horse?

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Is Bernard Tomic a 2013 Australian Open Dark Horse?

By Chris Oddo

(January 8, 2013) -- New racquet, new serve, new attitude. What's not to love about Bernard Tomic's 2013 thus far?

The 20-year-old Aussie endured a precipitous drop out of the top 30 in the latter half of 2012, as the pressure of playing week-in and week-out against the tour’s top dogs seemed to have him teetering close to a mental and physical breakdown.

It got so bad that Tomic was accused of tanking matches down the stretch, and finally, as his rapidly deteriorating season drew to a close, Tomic was getting more press for his late-night carousing and run-ins with Tennis Australia than for his nuanced, feel-based brand of tennis that made him a rising star in 2011.

Even Sam Stosur chimed in, attempting to send a message to her fellow Aussie over the airwaves. "He's young but he's making a lot of poor decisions at the moment," Stosur told Melbourne radio. "I hope for his sake he grows up pretty quick."

If his first week of 2013 are any indication, Tomic is indeed maturing.

Always tricky on his home turf in Australia, Tomic upset Novak Djokovic at the Hyundai Hopman Cup last week. He also took out Tommy Haas and Andreas Seppi to go undefeated in singles for the competition.

Yesterday at the Apia International in Sydney, Tomic continued his torrid play, dispatching the Australian No. 1 Marinko Matosevic in two breezy sets.

So, what's been the difference? Tomic credits some much-needed time at home.

"You take two months off from tournaments and you get to learn what you really want," he said. "I had no time to train last year. I kept playing tournament after tournament.”

A whirlwind, chaotic 2012 left Tomic jet-lagged and confused, but the silver lining is that Tomic seems to have learned a lot from the experience. He spoke to reporters about plans to periodize his training, taking small breaks from the tour every two or three weeks to allow for practice time and to preserve an oft-undervalued quality on tour: freshness. “One of the biggest problems that I had last year, I had no time to rest or train,” the 20-year-old lamented.

Tomic played 26 tournaments in 2012, in addition to 3 Davis Cup ties. That’s a lot for any player, but for Tomic it was clearly too much. After starting the season with some promising play at the Australian Open, Tomic stepped into a thick, soupy fog and never emerged. By the time the year was over Tomic was known as “tank engine“ and he was booted off the Australian Cup Davis Cup team for his perceived lack of effort.

“Tournaments didn’t feel like tournaments to me at a stage... I didn’t know what I was playing, I didn’t have time to train or prepare,” Tomic said of the perplexing dilemma that reduced him to a tennis body going through the motions without a spirit attached.

Now, with a fresh sense of perspective garnered from a 9-week-long training block at home in Australia, the wildly talented youngster is working to reverse his tarnished image. He’ll start, he says, by playing less, and focusing more when he does play. “I’ve decided to play not more than three tournaments in a row and have, I think, two weeks off after each sort of period,” he told reporters in Sydney this week. “That’s when I’m going to give myself the best chance. That’s what I need. For me, once I play more than four or five tournaments I get tired. I stop focusing.”

All of this ruminating on cultivating the best environment for Tomic to prosper is fine, but there are still improvements to be made in his game if he is to become the top ten player that he imagines he’ll become.

He’ll have to serve better, move better, and compete better. So far this year, he’s done that too.

After his victory over Matosevic yesterday Tomic discussed another reason for his solid performance of late: improved serving. “Under pressure I’m serving really well,” said Tomic. “When my groundstrokes are not working I feel as though my serve gets me out of trouble now. It’s difficult now for guys to break me whereas before I was losing a few cheap service games in a set.”

It’s a long process, the journey from highly touted prodigy to rising star to steady pro, and one that very few players -- regardless of potential or pedigree -- ever get to make. Tomic, after encountering some massive speed bumps, appears open to admitting and understanding his liabilities, and -- even better -- willing to submit himself to the heavy lifting that the next level will require.

It’s not a guarantee, but it does give Tomic a fighting chance. He’s a gifted talent trying to make his way to the top. He’s got a lot to prove, and, thankfully, lot’s of time to prove it.

“Now it’s all about on the court giving it 110 percent,” said Tomic “whether it’s two or three hours or an hour on court, it’s just focusing and doing the right things and committing to everything and that’s why I think I’ve been playing good tennis the last few weeks.”

(Photo Credit: Mark Peterson/Corleve)