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Tomic finds positives in French Open exit
Roland Garros campaigns over for Australians Bernard Tomic and Alex De Minaur.
Paris, France, 29 May 2017 | Darren Walton, AAP
Bernard Tomic is seeking the greener pastures of Wimbledon after a first round loss at the French Open in Paris.
Tasked with trying to stop Austrian Dominic Thiem, Tomic capitulated after a competitive first set to a 6-4 6-0 6-2 loss to the tournament’s sixth seed.
He was realistic in defeat.
“I was playing top two, three player on clay, and he’s been playing well, and really (I had) no chance today,” Tomic said.
“He killed me from the start.”
Indeed, Thiem is among the chief threats to Rafael Nadal’s quest for a 10th title after snapping the Spaniard’s 17-match winning streak in Rome 10 days ago.
Tomic took the fight to the world No.7 early with some bold, attacking tennis early and departed Paris remaining upbeat.
“I’m not quite there near him at this moment but hopefully one day in a few years I can improve on this surface and there’s been positive signs this year,” he said.
“I played really well; won three or four matches.
“I think this is my best year on clay, where I have won the most matches.
“So for me I’m pretty happy.
“Obviously, the draw was bad and I look to be ready on grass.”
Tomic was a quarterfinalist at the All England Club as a teenager in 2011, and has reached the last 16 twice since, including last year.
He’ll tune up this year with events in Halle, Stuttgart and Eastbourne, opting to skip Queens.
“I’m feeling pretty well,” Tomic said.
“Last year I played terrible on clay and I played very well on grass.
“I had a chance to make quarters at Wimbledon. I was a few points away, I think 5-3 in the fifth in the fourth round against (Lucas) Pouille and played really well in Queens, making semis.
“I didn’t play that good on clay last year. This year better.
“Here at Roland Garros, I have played the wrong player in the first round and I lost and now I’m looking for the beautiful grass courts.”
Australian wildcard Alex Di Minaur was also eliminated on the tournament’s opening day, with the 18-year-old beaten by Dutch veteran Robin Haase 6-2 6-3 6-1.
Sam Stosur, Daria Gavrilova, Jaimee Fourlis, Ajla Tomljanovic and John Millman are all scheduled to play their first round matches tonight.
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