Bernard Tomic is big news in Australia.  With Lleyton Hewitt heading to 30 and unlikely to reclaim his number 1 ranking that he had nearly a decade ago, all eyes are on Tomic.  Tomic is some weird amalgam, as if Jimmy Connors and John McEnroe were somehow merged together.  He combines the touch of McEnroe, slicing backhands and forehands, and using off-pace shots, and then being able to hit hard flat shots when he’s pulled out wide.

Because Tomic is not so quick, he ends up hitting defensive lobs when his opponent is on the baseline.  Most players are quick enough that they don’t need to do this.  This means Tomic’s opponents often stare as these lobs land deep and wonder what to do with it.

Initially, Verdasco had a smart strategy.  As a lefty, he can hit the inside out forehand and create angles.  For two sets, he was pushing Tomic side to side with his forehand.  Early in the first set, Tomic was more than ten feet behind the baseline trying to chase down shots.  The first set seemed to wear Tomic out.  In the second set, Tomic had set point chances, but was unable to get the break and then forced into a tiebreak.  In that tiebreak, Verdasco got to an early lead.   The one key for Verdasco is his fitness.  He’s as fit as they come.

However, Tomic didn’t stray from his slow-down strategy.  He sliced.  He hit half-pace shots.  Some compare his game to Miloslav Mecir, the one they nicknamed “The Big Cat”.  Mecir was, in many ways, a player ahead of his time.  If Lendl was the first modern player that focused on a big first serve and a big forehand, then Mecir was the first to use the angles on the court, pushing players off to the edges.  Yet, Mecir did this old-school.  Unlike the heavy topspin that guides players like Nadal, Verdasco, Federer, the Big Cat used relatively flat shots to guide his strokes and find angles.

Tomic can be seen as an extension of this style of play except his style is even lazier.  He pushes more than Mecir.  He uses slices precisely.  Because he hits off-pace shots, he controls the ball near the lines much better than a player that hits much harder.

Verdasco became befuddled.  He wasn’t sure whether he should hit hard or whether he should play at the same pace as Tomic.  When he hit hard, he often hit out.  When he hit soft, he would mishit shots.

Tomic then started to get Verdasco off his game in the fourth set when he got two breaks in the fourth set.  But the fifth set was much closer as Verdasco used his big serve to fight off break points, but also his big serve let him down with double-digit double faults.  One reason Verdasco’s rank has dropped is because he can’t rely on the big shot.  He can get on bad streaks and then he has an ongoing discussion.

Finally, Tomic got a key break at 5-all, then served out the set.  Afterwards, Tomic said he struggled with this match.  He couldn’t explain how he won.

Final score: 46 67 64 62 75

del Potro lost the first set to a very aggressive Frenchman, Adrian Mannarino.  However, del Potro decided to turn up his own offense and took the next three sets: 26 61 75 64.

Tomas Berdych also needed four sets to beat Spaniard, Albert Ramos: 75 46 62 63.  Berdych has been playing well lately so he’s one to keep an eye on.

Wawrinka and Fish won their matches in straight sets as did Feliciano Lopez and Ivo Karlovic who upset Jurgen Melzer.

Sam Querrey had a easy win over de Schepper, a player who is actually taller than Querrey.

Davydenko continues to show that his game may never recover, losing in 5 sets to Cipolla.

Later today, Nadal and Federer will play.