Tomic had to work tremendously hard to avoid elimination in Melbourne, outlasting a gritty Victor Estrella Burgos in a physically-demanding second-round matchup that took up nearly three and a half hours.
The 27th-seeded Australian won it in four sets, 7-5, 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 (5). His serves were right on the mark throughout the match as he converted on 80 percent of his first serve points and more than half (55%) of his second serve points. Tomic also swung in a total of 19 aces and 62 winners and won 75 percent of his net points, showcasing the power and versatility of his overall play.
However, his excessive aggression can be a bit concerning. Tomic accumulated 70 unforced errors in the second round alone.
It would be wise for him to take some more precaution heading into the third round against a very fired up Daniel Evans, who sent shockwaves around the globe during Wednesday night’s upset over World No. 7 Marin Cilic.
As noted earlier, Evans will be fired up in this matchup with Bernard Tomic, whom he has a relatively colorful history with.
About five years ago in Miami, Tomic’s father told the Briton that he was not skilled enough to practice with Tomic. That incident really fueled Evans at the 2013 US Open, where he took down Tomic in the second round.
Two years after that though, the Australian exacted revenge in the semifinals of the Davis Cup. This third head-to-head meeting in Melbourne should be very fun to watch.
Evans played with jaw-dropping consistency and discipline in his improbable triumph over one of tennis’ best in Marin Cilic. The 26-year-old won in four sets, smashing in a total of five aces, 32 unreturned serves; 29 winners and outscored the Croatian 85-76 in rallies of no more than four shots.
That impressive victory was also Evans’ second one versus a top-10 player, with the first of which occurring just eight days ago against World No. 8 Dominic Thiem at the Apia International in Sydney.
