Bernard Tomic is clutch in Cincinnati main draw debut

by JAMES HENRY

CINCINNATI – Rising tennis star Bernard Tomic made his main draw debut at the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati.

The 19-year-old Australian defeated Ryan Harrison 6-4, 7-6 (5) and credited his victory to winning a few key points.

“Tennis comes down to sometimes one point, and it’s the most important point of the match,” Tomic said. “If you actually get it and win, that’s huge.”

“In the game now, everyone who’s playing the top 100 is good. They’re there for a reason. I think the only guys that stand out are the guys in top four or five that are a bit different,” he added.

“I think it comes down to playing a tennis match is one point, two points. If you take those opportunities sometimes at 4-all and break points at 3-all, you can win the set and from then you don’t know.”

Last year, Tomic was unable to advance from the first round of qualifying, losing a three-set match against Julien Benneteau that included two tiebreakers.

“Today I managed to come back from two set points down. I hit a good serve and played a good point,” the versatile shot-maker said. “If it was going to be the third set, it would have been different. I would have been a little bit tighter, and Ryan would have played much more confidently. I think the crowd was on his side.

“But tennis comes down to a few points. I think the better players get those points more frequently than others.”

Harrison said he was aware of the missed opportunity.

“I was one point away from being in the third set, and who knows what happens there. I could go and have a good rest of the tournament,” the 20-year-old American said.

“But that’s tennis. It happens your way sometimes, and sometimes it doesn’t. You’ve got to just keep working.”

In the second round, Tomic will play either Brian Baker or Philipp Kohlschreiber.

James Henry is a contributing writer for OnTheGoTennis and is currently in Cincinnati covering the tournament.  To follow him on Twitter click here.

Photos by James Henry