Marinko Matosevic outshines Bernard Tomic for Australia’s top rank – Tennis News
Marinko Matosevic will overtake Bernard Tomic as the new Australian number one after his first round win over seventh seeded Florian Mayer at the Swiss Indoors, an ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) World Tour 500 Series event held in Basel, Switzerland.
The youngster on the other hand saw the exit doors after bowing out to sixth seeded Mikhail Youzhny.
Bernard Tomic dismal season dealt another blow when he lost the top rank in Australia. He ended his season early this circuit whereas Matosevic maintained consistency in his game, eventually went on climbing at the South African Airways ATP World Tour Rankings.
The 20-year-old was crashed out by the Russian seed with a bagel. He is currently standing on a four match losing streak as he exited from the opening rounds at the Rakuten Japan Open Tennis Championships and the Shanghai Rolex Masters.
After exiting at the hands of Florian Mayer with a bagel in Shanghai, he reflected that he is not giving his 100 per cent. The youngster believes he has not taken rest and fatigue is causing this bad patch. He commented in a courtside interview after losing
to the German:
"It's been a long year. I played a lot of tournaments. Haven't had time to rest. I think I only rested one week after Roland Garros. I think it was the wrong sort of move that I made. I think it's costing me now the last few months. My performance has not
been as good. This is my first big year. It takes a lot out of you. I feel the pressure now is starting to kick in. I'm starting to feel that at tournaments where I defend. It's a bloody tough thing to respond to."
Currently ranked 51st in the ATP World Tour Rankings, Matosevic exited from the opening round at the Us Open, Thailand Open, China Open and the Shanghai Rolex Masters. However, he re-focused his strategy at the Erste Bank Open in Vienna and stunned
sixth seeded Robin Haase in a three-set thriller. The 27-year-old then carried his momentum and overpowered the local wild card entrant, Dominic Thiem. He bowed out to the eventual champion, Juan Martin Del Potro, but secured a quarter-final berth. He carried
his impressive run in Basel and after claiming the first round victory, the veteran will occupy the top Australian rank in the next week’s rankings.
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