Bernard Tomic ousts Denis Istomin in the first round – Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters 2012
Rising star, Bernard Tomic of Australia, captured his first ever clay court win on the ATP World Tour, as he defeated Uzbek, Denis Istomin, in straight sets 6-4, 6-3 in the opening round at the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters in Monaco
on Monday.
The Australian took just an hour and two minutes to post this win over his opponent.
This is Tomic’s first clay court event in 2012, playing all the tournaments on the hard surface until now. He tried his luck on the slowest surface in a couple of tournaments last year but to no gain.
The 19-year-old took no time to grab lead, as he struck a blow to the Uzbek in the very first game of the match and capitalised on it to move ahead 2-0. The Australian did not lose his serve in the entire set, closing it out 6-4.
Tomic smacked one ace and 67 percent of the first serves, winning 14 of the 16 points on them and six of the eight on the second deliveries. The Australian also did quite well on the second returns, claiming six of the nine points
on them in the opener.
In the second set, both players held their serve in the first six games to take the score to 3-3. It was all Tomic show after that, as he clinched three in a row, making breakthroughs in the seventh and ninth game to seal it 6-3.
The Australian neither hit an ace nor committed any double fault in the second set. However, just like the previous one, he performed well on the serve, putting in 76 percent of the first deliveries and converting 13 of the 16
of them into points. The right-hander did not provide Istomin any opportunity to break and availed two of the three he created himself.
Talking to the reporters after the match, Tomic said, "Today I felt good. I'm starting to learn how to play on clay. That's the important thing. If I play my tennis, [other players] struggle with my game even on clay. I think this
next six weeks will be very interesting to see how I go.”
The Australian added, "A lot of clay court players play behind the line. But I think my tennis is something different. If I play my tennis, they struggle with my game even on clay... And I think I can do pretty good."
Tomic is drawn to meet 16th seed, Alexandr Dolgopolov, in the second round.
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