Bernard Tomic is quietly rising up the ATP rankings in a bid to have a shot at 2025 Australian Open qualifying.
A terrific week at the Fairfield Challenger in the United States saw Tomic reach the final, only to finish runner-up in a 6-0 6-1 defeat at the hands of top seed Learner Tien.
Tomic set a new unwanted record as he was defeated in 39 minutes - the shortest Challenger final match in history.
Despite falling short of clinching his first title since lifting the Chengdu Open trophy in 2018, the 31-year-old climbed 31 spots to world No.202.
Now, Tomic is well within reach of being eligible to compete in the 128-player qualifying draw for the Australian Open singles in January, given the top-104 automatically seal their ticket into the main draw.
A potential wildcard handed by Tennis Australia is beyond unlikely due to a tense relationship with former world No.1 Lleyton Hewitt dating back to 2019.
In a stunning attack, Tomic was brutal in his assessment of Hewitt concerning his position as Australia's Davis Cup captain.
"It's all Lleyton. I'm going to say it honestly, no one likes him anymore," Tomic said after his first round loss at Melbourne Park in 2019.
"He's just doing the wrong thing. He's playing Davis Cup, I thought he was retired. He's playing all these matches and stuff like this. You know what I mean?
"He used to hate Tennis Australia. It's weird. And now he loves them. What's happened here?"
The former world No.17 has vowed to put in the hard yards and grind his way up the rankings.
"I’m going to turn this around and give myself the best chance in the next few years,” Tomic said in 2021. “There’s another chance for this. I’ll try it myself. Now it’s all about getting it right, making good cracks in the next five or six years, and trying to get back to the top."
45 victories this year for the Aussie is the most matches he has won in a calendar year since 2008.
Although Tomic has dodged controversy for the most part in the past few years, he has been in the headlines for attending a Challenger final and heckling an opponent who previously beat him as well as retiring with Covid in the first set of a separate challenger while seen arguing with his girlfriend in the stands.
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