Bernard Tomic thrilled his nation
with a spectacular five-set comeback over Fernando Verdasco in the first round.
On Wednesday night, he’ll face another former top-20 player in Amercian Sam
Querrey, who plays nothing like the fast Spaniard and will try his best not to
allow the cagey 19-year-old to draw out points
The two have never met before,
but they do share a few similarities: both are tall (the Aussie is
six-feet-five while the Amercian is listed at 6-feet- 6) and both have
mentioned as potential stars in the making who could replace their nations’
great players since the time they are young.
Neither have been able to pull
off the feat yet, but Tomic is still a very young player who has been rising
quickly since he reached the 2011 Wimbledon quarterfinals, while Querrey has
won six small to medium-sized titles, but has hit his head on the door trying
to crack through to his first final eight at a major.
The two have hit together before,
but are not entirely familiar with each other’s game. However, while Querrey’s
game can be lethal, it is not complicated: he owns a huge serve, a massive
forehand, a big return, but he shies away form the net and doesn’t move all
that well.
Tomic also can belt a first serve
and hammer a forehand, but he has remarkable touch off his backhand side and is
willing to mix and match speed and placement.
Querrey has often said that when
he’s playing his best, he’ll go out and “grip and rip.”
Tomic is a little subtler about
his approach to the game.
''He's a little unorthodox with
some of his strokes and the way he hits the ball, and he's crafty with the
slice,'' said the 24-year-old Querrey. ''And I feel like sometimes he'll kind
of massage the serve in, but then other times he's got the ability to crack it
in at 120 miles per hour. But I've just got to stick with it. He makes
[returns] a ton of balls, he's a good mover; I feel like he's got this great
kind of tennis sense on the court. He's a smart player and I'm sure he'll feed
off the crowd a little bit. There's not really a weakness when you watch him
play. He's pretty solid off both wings, good serve, good return, so I'm going
to hopefully go out there and play big, and come at him and make balls.''
Querrey had to work super hard
just to get into the main draw of the Australian Open after undergoing right
elbow surgery last June. Last January, he reached a career high No. 17, but
finished the season ranked No. 93.
For whatever reason, even though
he grew up on hard courts, Querrey has not performed well at the Australian
Open, falling in the first round the past three years. But when he walks on
court, he still feels like a top-20 player.
''I feel like I belong there. I
feel like I've got all the shots and hopefully I can just keep winning matches
and get my ranking back up there as soon as possible,'' said Querrey, who added
that he needs to play more aggressively on the big points. ''I feel like I
always say that, but I don't do it,” he said.
Outside of Wimbledon, it’s the
Australian Open where Tomic has had his best results, upsetting top 40 players
Jeremy Chardy and Feliciano Lopez last year before going down to 2009 champion
Rafael Nadal. His win over Verdasco added to his lore. Another won over Querrey
would pad his resume a good deal.
“It’s a good match,” Tomic said.
“He's not a lefthander, 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.”
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