has been knocked out of the Australian Open qualifying draw after losing in round one to Jozef Kovalik.
The Slovakian player won the match 6-3, 6-1 in an hour, having a commanding lead with 26 winners compared to Tomic’s seven.
Tomic was quite subdued after the loss, giving a thumps up to the crowd and signing autographs for young fans before heading off the court.
Givin’ his thoughts after his win, Aussie tennis star Kovalik was chuffed to have sidestepped any dangers posed by Tomic’s talent.
“He’s got a great touch, excellent technique, so I’m as happy as I could be that it wasn’t complicated because he can be a bit tricky,” he said on Nine’s broadcast.
Tomic, 32, has not been spotted at the Australian Open since 2022.
Bernard Tomic back to Grand Slam tennis with a quick loss. pic.twitter.com/3NYHEbr0Rd
— José Morgado (@josemorgado) January 7, 2025
He’s appeared in the main draw 11 times but hasn’t broken through to the fourth round.
Last year, Tomic earnt $101,170 playing in most ATP Challenger events.
The majority of the matches were played in the United States, in addition to Canada, Brazil, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Mexico, India and Thailand.
His best result was at the M25 Chennai tournament.
Tomic still won $35,000 for participating in the qualifying draw of the Australian Open.
Jason Kubler and Marc Polmans were among the other local hopefuls knocked out.
