ATP TENNIS STAR BERNIE TOMIC CLIMBS TO NEW HIGHTS, & MORE SYDNEY RESULTS INCLUDING THE BRYAN BROTHERS LOSE

Written by: Staff on 12th January 2016

ATP TENNIS STAR BERNIE TOMIC CLIMBS TO NEW HIGHTS, & MORE SYDNEY RESULTS INCLUDING THE BRYAN BROTHERS LOSE |

Enjoying a career high ranking, Bernard Tomic was sky high at @SydneyTowerEye #ilovesydney – Photo by @SydneyTennis via Twitter.

They say there’s no better way to conquer a fear than to go right to the source. Bernard Tomic Took that to heart on Tuesday. Despite a fear of heights, the Apia International Sydney’s top seed went all the way to the top of the second tallest observation tower in the Southern Hemisphere — the 1,014-foot Sydney Tower.

“This is an amazing view and it’s certainly the first time I’ve done something like this,” said Tomic. “It’s a good feeling. I never got the chance to do this. It truly is high. I’m a bit scared, but also very happy to be up here. Maybe breaking the fear up here will be a good start for the week in Sydney. I don’t do well with heights, but I’m happy I did it.”

“It’s not every day you can come up to a place like this,” he added. “There are so many things to do in Sydney. It’s a very active, energetic city, which I truly like. It’s my No. 1 place in Australia.”

While the top seed awaits his first match, action got underway at the Sydney Olympic Park Tennis Center. No. 8 seed Alexandr Dolgopolov, a two-time quarter-finalist (2011, 2014) in Sydney, raced into the second round via a 6-1, 6-4 win over Thomaz Bellucci in 66 minutes.

The 36th-ranked Ukrainian is now 2-0 against the Brazilian, having won their previous meeting at the ATP Masters 1000 Miami last March. He finished with seven aces, won 84 per cent of his first-serve points (27 of 32), and saved the only break point he faced. The 27-year-old will next face American qualifier Alexander Sarkissian.

Elsewhere, Teymuraz Gabashvili overcame six double faults to upset No. 7 seed and 2015 semi-finalist Leonardo Mayer 6-4, 6-3 in one hour and 32 minutes, inching ahead 2-1 in FedEx ATP Head2Head match-ups. Gabashvili goes on to face Federico Delbonis, who withstood 16 aces to beat Sam Groth 7-6(4), 7-6(5) in the last match of the day.

The all-French showdown between qualifier Nicolas Mahut and Adrian Mannarino saw Mahut advance with a 6-4, 7-5 decision. The 33-year-old converted five on nine break-point opportunities is the one-hour and 38-minute win.

No. 6 seed Jeremy Chardy dismissed qualifier Mikhail Kukushkin 6-2, 6-3 in just over an hour, out-acing his opponent 11-0. Gilles Muller made quick work of Chennai finalist Borna Coric 6-1, 6-4, and wild-card Australian James Duckworth defeated lucky loser Inigo Cervantes 6-3, 6-2.

Doubles: Top seeds ousted

Top seeds Jean-Julien Rojer and Horia Tecau suffered a 4-6, 7-6(9), 10-4 first-round defeat at the hands of Aussies Matt Reid and Jordan Thompson. The World No. 1 duo were runners-up in Sydney last year.

Second seeds Bob and Mike Bryan were also ousted in the first round, falling to Jonathan Erlich and Colin Fleming 7-5, 7-5. Inspired by an exceptional returning performance from Erlich, Erlich and Fleming rallied from a break down in the second set to close it out in straight sets, breaking Mike Bryan to love in the last game. The Bryans were bidding for their fourth Sydney title this week.

No. 4 seeds Rohan Bopanna and Florin Mergea avoided an upset as they battled past Denis Istomin and Henri Kontinen 6-7(2), 6-3, 10-8. Two of 2016’s new teams also enjoyed first-round wins, with the Polish tandem of Lukasz Kubot and Marcin Matkowski beating Marc Lopez and Andreas Seppi 6-3, 7-5, and Jamie Murray and Bruno Soares edging James Duckworth and John Millman 6-4, 5-7, 11-9.

Following singles play, Bellucci and Mayer teamed up for a 6-4, 3-6, 10-8 victory over Gabashvili/Kukushkin.

( Courtesy of the ATP and Original Link – http://www.atpworldtour.com/en/news/tomic-climbs-to-new-heights )

Topics: Atp World Tour, Bernard Tomic, Bryan Brothers, Sports, Sydney Tennis, Tennis, Tennis News