Australia’s top male tennis player Bernard Tomic has spoken about his bid to get inside the top 10 for the first time in his career.
The 23-year-old has won one title this year on the ATP Tour at the Bogotá Open in Colombia. Tomic also reached the semifinal at the Delray Beach Open in February. His steady climb up the rankings this year has resulted in Tomic becoming the first Australian player to reach the top 18 since Lleyton Hewitt back in 2008.
The world No.18 spoke about his 2016 hopes with the Khaleej Times in the UAE, where he is currently participating in the IPTL. Speaking about what he needs to do to achieve his top-10 goal, the Australian has stated that consistency is the key for him.
“I have to start strongly and really play well in the Australian summer and – after that – just remain consistent like I was in 2015,” Tomic said.
This year the Australian has endured a mixed season with a win-loss of 40-27 on the tour. His best Grand Slam performance was at the Australian Open where he reached the fourth round. Tomic has also produced three wins against a top 10 player, defeating David Ferrer twice and Marin Cilic once.
The trio of wins over top 10 players this year is encouraging for Tomic and his team, however, the 23-year-old has acknowledged the tough challenge he faces to reach the top 10 in the world.
“I’d really love to get in the top 10. On paper, it doesn’t look so far away; it’s six, seven or eight spots”. He said.
“But, it’s very difficult so I have to start winning some bigger titles to get the opportunity to move inside the top 10”.
Tomic was first predicted to reach the top end of the ranking in 2011 after his sensational run to the quarter-finals at Wimbledon at the age of 18. His progress to the top has however been slower than expected due to some disappointing results as well as injury in 2014. Despite this, Tomic in now on course to fulfilling what those predicted back in 2011 as he pledges to commit to every event in 2016.
“Once you get in that block of top 20 or 30 players and you get seeded positions, you need to be fresh for all of the tournaments you play and that’s one thing that I have to do in 2016 – be really ready for every tournament I play.”
The first tournament in 2016 for Tomic will be the Brisbane International on January 4th where he is currently scheduled to be the 7th seed.
