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1/15/12 4:09 AM | Cheryl Murray
Australian hometown favorite Bernard Tomic will start off his campaign in Melbourne against Auckland semifinalist Fernando Verdasco.
Bernard Tomic, ranked 37th in the world, missed being seeded at his home slam. He drew the No. 22 seed Fernando Verdasco, but the draw could have been more difficult for the Aussie.
Verdasco comes into Melbourne off with just a couple days of rest after advancing to the semifinals in Auckland on Saturday. The Spaniard went out to countryman David Ferrer. But despite showing good form last week, Verdasco isn't likely to have an easy time of it with Tomic.
Tomic is also enjoying good form. The youngster defeated a trio of strong players in Brisbane, including Denis Istomin and Julien Benneteau, before going out to eventual champion Andy Murray.
Tomic plays an unconventional game which relies on changing up pace and exploiting an opponent’s tendency to donate unforced errors.
The two men have played just one other time, with Verdasco the victor, but it was back in 2009, far before Tomic became the player that he is today.
Prediction – Expect Verdasco to have his hands full on this one. The Aussie for the upset in 4.
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Tomic for the win.......................
rafaisthebest , 1/15/12 1:45 PM
GO ATOMIC!
zare , 1/15/12 6:18 PM
Tomic looks lethargic today, don't know what happened to him. He's now to sets down, both players not playing their best tennis.
luckystar , 1/16/12 5:00 AM
Horrid end of set 2 from Verdasco. Double faulting into a break isn't how you want things to go.
cherylmurray , 1/16/12 5:18 AM
Well played Atomic! Come on!
deuce , 1/16/12 7:17 AM
had verdasco played in a different outfit he would've won the match.
rfzr , 1/16/12 7:36 AM
rfzr, ROFL. Actually, I did think we had a big "fashion" discussion going for another Slam!
And Dimitrov comes through too. Are these very talented youngsters at last making mini-breakthroughs?
deuce , 1/16/12 8:40 AM
I have to admit Ricky that before Nando went loopy in the middle of the 3rd set I was preparing to blow you a raspberry that you thought Tomic would win in 5. Did you have a secret pact with Nando to lose in 5, because he absolutely threw the match away when Tomic was clearly on his last legs in the 3rd set.
Good prediction.
nadline , 1/16/12 8:47 AM
nice one rfzr.
am i the only one who feels sorry for verdasco? what happened to the guy..
mriiidula , 1/16/12 2:56 PM
^^ Yes, its a pity that the AO 2009 performance seems like a one-off. He played quite beautifully during that tournament. You've got to hand it to Tomic though - he really uses some physics to play this game.
samprallica , 1/16/12 3:20 PM
duce, mriiidula: there is a twit circulating around: "verdasco looks like he was overrun by a gigantic highlighter".
rfzr , 1/16/12 6:12 PM
WAnt the Tomic - Roger matchup, should be interesting..Roger will win but I think the match will be good..it all depends on their earlier rounds ..
I think the Dolgo and Tomic one can be a cracker too.
sanju , 1/16/12 6:27 PM
nadline, Ricky didn't write this preview. I did. :D
And at the beginning of the third set, Ricky was laughing at me for getting the prediction wrong. Who's LAUGHING NOW?!?? AHAHAHAHAHAHA. Ahem.
cherylmurray , 1/16/12 6:34 PM
i went to bed after set 2. it was 4am here. gutted i missed the rest of it
Sib69 , 1/16/12 6:55 PM
I foolishly thought the match was over when Verdasco was up two sets against Tomic. So I turned it off. I should have known better. When I happened to check out espn2 again later on, sure enough Tomic had won the next two sets and they were battling in a close fifth set!
So Verdasco went down to the young Tomic after being up two sets. Why am I surprised!
It's a pleasure to congratulate Cheryl on a great prediction!
Nativenewyorker , 1/16/12 10:04 PM
Poor Verdasco, what happened to him? I think he's no longer that interested in playing tennis. His doubles matches with Lopez during DC were equally pathetic. Hope he finds some motivation to get back on track, he's not even 30 yet. His doubles partner, Lopez, seems to be going strong at 30 and is playing better tennis than ever. Learn from Lopez, Mr Verdasco!
luckystar , 1/17/12 3:14 AM
Sorry Cheryl. Kudos to you.
nadline , 1/17/12 4:34 AM
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Verdasco is the underdog. Tomic is well under even money to win the match.
RickyDimon , 1/15/12 6:48 AM