Tomic’s brilliant sportsmanship after epic rally
On a night where compatriot Nick Kyrgios stole the headlines for the wrong reasons, Bernard Tomic restored some credibility to Australian tennis.
Tomic overcame Victor Estrella Burgos of the Dominican Republic in a hard-fought encounter 7-5 7-6 (7-4) 4-6 7-6 (7-5).
The intense second round clash had plenty of highlights but one point in the second set summed up the respect that both players had for one another.
Locked at 3-3 with Tomic up 40-30 on serve, both players traded baseline blows until a crafty drop shot from the Aussie brought Estrella Burgos into the net.
Both players showed great respect for one another. Pic: Getty
He somehow managed to get a racquet to the ball and hit a cross-court shot that had Tomic scrambling.
But the Aussie, out of court when he hit it, played a brilliant backhand passing shot that landed just inside the baseline to win the game.
The crowd erupted and their cheers grew even louder when Tomic held out an arm to give Estrella Burgos a fist bump.
The fact that the Dominican met it with an attempted high five was inconsequential, albeit rather funny.
Not quite what Bernie was going for but whatever. Pic: Channel 7
27th seed, Tomic next faces world No.51 Brit Daniel Evans, who upset seventh seed Marin Cilic in four sets.
If Tomic can get past the Brit he will play former Australian Open runner-up Jo-Wilfried Tsonga or American Jack Sock in the fourth round.
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