Rafter backs Tomic to lead team

Updated April 05, 2012 17:04:11

Captain Patrick Rafter says teenager Bernard Tomic will thrive on leading Australia's Davis Cup campaign in Lleyton Hewitt's absence.

Tomic, 19, has been asked to step up as the number one player for his country in the tie against lowly South Korea starting in Brisbane on Friday.

The world number 36 Tomic has been drawn to meet unheralded Min-Hyeok Cho, a player who does not have an official ranking with the ATP, in the opening singles clash.

Australian team-mate Matthew Ebden - the world number 75 - will take on Suk-Young Jeong, ranked 730th in the second match at Pat Rafter Arena.

World number 18 Australia's Chris Guccione and Marinko Matosevic have been pencilled in for Saturday's doubles clash.

Rafter backed Tomic to stand tall in the Asia-Oceania group second round tie with Hewitt unavailable until June due to a foot injury.

"We are playing a team that is lowly-ranked," Rafter said.

"I see that as not a lot of pressure on Bernard at all.

"If it was a tougher tie I would think he would have a bit more of a burden but he's someone who thrives in adversity. He loves the pressure."

Tomic admitted he had no idea about his opponent who has a career-high ranking of 666.

"That's where it can be tough," Tomic said.

"I am much better-ranked but that doesn't mean anything.

"In Davis Cup players play much more freely and relaxed, hopefully I get up tomorrow.

"Whatever they throw at us we have to be ready."

The tie is a stepping stone as Australia look to break back into the elite World Group for the first time since 2007.

AAP

Tags: sport, tennis, brisbane-4000

First posted April 05, 2012 17:04:11

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Tomic backs his dad as tennis coach

Updated April 03, 2012 16:22:26

A bemused Bernard Tomic on Tuesday backed his father as his coach, saying it was a "complete load of crap" that their bizarre on-court spat made headlines.

The teenager appeared to have a public falling out with his dad John at the recent Miami Masters where he asked the chair umpire to have his father removed from courtside seating because he was "annoying" him.

But world number 36 Tomic seemed surprised the incident had been reported as he prepared to spearhead Australia's Davis Cup clash with South Korea starting in Brisbane on Friday.

"I don't know how it makes news. It's a complete load of crap how that makes news," he said in Brisbane on Tuesday.

"There's a lot of stuff that can happen. But it's stuff that you experience in life and you learn from these things - it's a good learning curve."

Asked if he would react differently next time, Tomic said: "Absolutely.

"That was a small problem. It's all fixed.

"My dad is the right guy to coach me - he's always been.

"We have always got along. Father-son relationships are always a bit tricky but there's no doubt my dad will be there for me.

"I have gotten to where I am because of him."

Tomic, 19, dismissed concerns about his "head space" as he prepared to lead Australia for the first time in the absence of the injured Lleyton Hewitt (foot) despite boasting just four Davis Cup ties.

The burden of carrying his country has been eased somewhat by the presence of former world number one Hewitt as a courtside mentor at the Brisbane tie.

"He's still the leader," Tomic said of Hewitt.

"He's a champion. We love Rusty (Hewitt). It is a shame he can't play but we are ready to go.

"He has been supporting - hopefully he will be right for our next tie if we win here.

"It's a different feeling (spearheading Australia) but, no matter what, I am going to try my best."

Australian captain Patrick Rafter said Hewitt's presence also made his life easier.

"I lean on him a little bit. To have his influence is tremendous," he said.

A singles spot is open for Australia after Hewitt underwent toe surgery, ensuring he will be out of action until the lead-up to Wimbledon in June.

Rafter hinted that world number 75 Matthew Ebden would partner Tomic in the opening singles but kept the door ajar for number 121 Marinko Matosevic donning the green and gold during the tie.

World number 18 Australia is expected to sweep number 31 South Korea in Brisbane as it works towards breaking back into the elite World Group for the first time since 2007.

"They are the underdogs. These boys are playing great tennis. It's probably fair that they (South Korea) are talking themselves down," Rafter said.

"I am hoping for a clean sweep but we have to make sure we don't get complacent."

AAP

Tags: sport, tennis, brisbane-4000, qld, australia

First posted April 03, 2012 16:18:46

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Tomic backs fitness to bounce back

Updated January 17, 2012 18:36:12

Bernard Tomic is confident he can sufficiently recover from his exhausting Australian Open start to see off Sam Querrey on Wednesday night and remain on track for a blockbuster showdown with Roger Federer.

Tomic admitted he would have to scrap his summer routine of hitting the treadmill post-match for extra conditioning after battling intense heat for more than four hours in his five-set first-round comeback win over Fernando Verdasco.

"Yeah, I'm going to stop that for sure, have a bit of a rest. I think I deserve a rest," he said.

"It was probably the toughest five-set match that I've ever played."

But the 19-year-old's father and coach John Tomic said his son would have no trouble backing up after spending the summer peaking for his first home grand slam tilt as Australian number one.

"He'll be okay. He has a good team around him," he said.

Tomic was hoping his evening schedule would offer friendlier conditions than the sapping 30-plus temperatures he faced against Verdasco for his first-time meeting with Querrey, a former Queen's Club champion and world number 17 but now ranked 95th following elbow surgery last year.

"I would love to play when it's a bit cooler," Tomic said.

"I play Sam now, which is a good match. He's not a left-hander, so it's a bit easier in a way.

"It's tough when Fernando gets that ball to my backhand. It's almost impossible to out-rally him.

"Different opponent now. Night or day."

The 19-year-old Wimbledon quarter-finalist looked down and out after falling behind two sets to love to Verdasco, but admitted to foxing his seasoned opponent early in the third set.

"I had a feeling he knew I was going to go away. I eased off and seemed (like) I didn't care," Tomic said.

"He thought he was going to win that third set and when the right time came, I broke him.

"I knew if I lifted my game early, he would have lifted as well and he wouldn't have let go.

"I pretended a little bit in the first few games in that third set to not be there as mentally, but in a way to still be there."

Should he beat Querrey, Tomic would likely face world number 13 Alexandr Dolgopolov on Friday.

But Ukraine's 2011 quarter-finalist conceded after struggling through his own five-set first-round victory that he was worried that a blood condition he suffers from had "raised its head at the worst possible time".

"I hope it's not that, just that something else is wrong with my body," Dolgopolov said after recovering from two sets down to defeat Australian wildcard Greg Jones.

"I was breathing hard because my heart was going too fast and I had no power to play.

"There's nothing much I can do. My tennis isn't the concern for my next match - it's my health."

AAP

Tags: sport, tennis, australian-open, australia, vic, melbourne-3000

First posted January 17, 2012 08:47:05

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Roche backs Hewitt's French comeback

Posted May 9, 2011 16:23:00

Master coach Tony Roche has hailed Lleyton Hewitt the toughest competitor he has ever encountered as Australia's tennis warrior targets a shock comeback at this month's French Open.

Roche and Hewitt will fly to Europe on Thursday, with the former world number one boldly planning to contest the claycourt grand slam beginning on Sunday week despite having not played for more than two months.

The 30-year-old underwent foot surgery in March but Hewitt is once again prepared to play through the pain barrier.

"I think he's used to that. Look, he'd be the toughest competitor that I've seen," Roche said on Monday.

"He's had a lot of setbacks the last couple of years but he keeps bouncing back.

"He keeps wanting to improve and he's so keen, which is great for Australian tennis because we need him to hang in there."

Roche's opinion comes highly qualified - the 1963 French Open champion has guided all-time greats Roger Federer, Ivan Lendl and Pat Rafter to more than a dozen grand slam titles.

And indeed Hewitt's powers of recovery are nothing short of amazing.

Time and again, the two-time major winner has gone under the knife only to return and contend almost immediately at the slams.

Last year, Hewitt was sidelined for almost four months following a second round of hip surgery and a knee operation before upstaging the mighty Federer on grass in the Halle final and then almost beating Novak Djokovic at Wimbledon.

He reached the quarter-finals of the 2006 US Open despite carrying a knee injury that threatened his very participation.

His finest effort playing under duress in Paris came in 2008 when he lobbed at Roland Garros without having contested a single match on the surface and pushed fifth-seeded claycourt specialist David Ferrer to five sets in the third round.

Despite all the setbacks, Hewitt is the only active player - Federer and the king of clay Rafael Nadal included - to have made the last 32 on 10 straight visits to Paris.

It has taken Nadal to end four of Hewitt's past five French campaigns and Roche is not ruling out another strong run from his tenacious charge.

"It's his first tournament back from his operation. It's a big ask, but he could do it if he got the right draw," he said.

"Unfortunately, he's not going to be seeded so you've got to rely on a good passage through that first week and not running into, say, the top three or four guys.

"But Lleyton is still as keen as ever. He feels in the grand slams, given the right opportunity, that he can still be competitive with the top guys."

Roche said ideally the two-time French quarter-finalist would win a couple of rounds in Paris to gain some valuable match practice before the grasscourt season.

"I know he's looking forward to Wimbledon, getting on the grass," Roche said.

"He sees that surface as being well suited to his game.

"Two years ago, he lost to (Andy) Roddick in five sets (in the quarter-finals) and actually had a break in the fifth and Roddick came up with an unbelievable shot and Roddick nearly beat Federer in the final.

"So he's not too far away. One point there and he could have been in the final.

"So if he gets the matches under his belt and good preparation, he can do very, very well at Wimbledon."

- AAP

Tags: sport, tennis, australia, france

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