Tomic to Play Murray for the First Time

Written by: Staff on 6th January 2012

Brisbane International Tennis tournament

Tomic to Play Murray for the First Time

Australian Bernard Tomic serves during his second round match against Ito Tatsuma of Japan at the Brisbane International Tennis tournament in Brisbane, Australia, 04 January 2012. Tomic defeated Ito 6-1, 6-2. EPA/DAVE HUNT AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND OUT |

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Bernard Tomic will undergo another important stage in his tennis education when the Queensland youngster faces up to world no.4 Andy Murray in the Brisbane International semi-final but the Australian teenager is un-phased by the prospect.

Murray is expected to have new coach Ivan Lendl courtside for the first time after the former world no.1 arrived in Australia late last night but for Tomic the match will complete his set of confrontations with the leading players in the men’s game.

“I’ve played the three top players now and to play Andy tomorrow is an interesting thing,” said 42nd ranked Tomic who was impressive against Novak Djokovic at Wimbledon, was beaten by Rafael Nadal at last year’s Australian Open and extended Roger Federer to four sets in September’s Davis Cup play-off in Sydney.

“I’m happy, I’m ready, and I know I can take sets off these guys. For me to have any chance of winning it will have to be me playing aggressive and dominating.”

After an inauspicious start to 2012, Murray appears to have played himself into form at Brisbane, beating one-time Australian Open finalist Marcos Baghdatis in straight sets to reach the semi-final. Tomic was equally impressive in beating Uzbekistan’s Dennis Istomin in straight sets and said of the Scot: “Andy won’t miss as easily as players outside the top 10 miss.

“He will last a long time in a rally and get a lot of balls back. That’s where it’s tough, you lose your mind and want to go for a winner. When I get my chance, I’m going to have to take it, not go for too much and stay consistent. And my best chance of doing well is to serve well.”

Murray as ever has done his homework on an opponent he has never faced before and knows what to expect against eighth seeded Tomic. “He’s very unorthodox. He’s very different to a lot of the guys on the tour nowadays,” he said.

“He plays it pretty flat with not much top spin. He’s very intelligent on the court, with good tennis IQ. He slices a lot, he sometimes guesses on serves. He gets aced quite a lot, but when he sees three or four in a row he can get some big returns. He’s quite unpredictable. You have to be very focused against him. Sometimes he doesn’t do much but then he can play three or four great games.”

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Topics: Brisbane International, Murray, Tomic