APIA INTERNATIONAL SYDNEY

January 13, 2015

Bernard Tomic

B. TOMIC/I. Sijsling
6‑1, 6‑2

THE MODERATOR:  Questions, please.

Q.  Very complete performance.  Must have felt terrific.
BERNARD TOMIC:  Yeah, played pretty good.  Wouldn't say I played the best, but I played the right tennis when I needed to and I was pretty solid from the side.  I was serving very good and feeling it.
Very happy with today.  Can't complain on anything.  Maybe I felt I could have returned a little bit better from the start, but actually it was pretty good.

Q.  (Regarding fitness work and when it started; what was worked on.)
BERNARD TOMIC:  Well, I knew I needed to get super fit and super strong in areas that were still not 100%, which were my hips and glutes and hamstrings.
So I knew what I had to do.  I sat down and made the solution of starting off slowly the first week and getting really into those tough exercises that will help me get down low to the ball.
It was tough.  I did a lot of stuff for that, and only now probably am catching the timing for it.  It was a long two months of work.  It pays off and I'm feeling a lot better or court.  I still have to continue working.
There is now a lot of matches coming in, so I have to be ready for the matches and adapt and recover quicker.  That's something I'm getting used to now.

Q.  Is fitness kind of more important to you now than when you first started on tour?  Are you surprised how much it plays a role?
BERNARD TOMIC:  Yeah, absolutely.  I thought it was going to come ‑‑ when I was doing so well at 18, 19, I thought naturally everything was going to happen without the hard work, you know, getting inside the Top 10.
But it's not, because all the guys in the Top 10, Top 8 are very strong and fit and they use this.  For me, the biggest thing is fitness and staying healthy and really feeling strong on the court.  I'm a big, tall guy, so I need to be strong.  I need to continue working this year.
Tournaments that I play, I need to find time to always work hard and have a few weeks where I can get strong to play well for the tournaments I choose to play.

Q.  Is this the fittest you've been going into an Aussie Open?
BERNARD TOMIC:  For sure I'm always pretty fit at this time, January.  I'm always pretty fit.  I think I'll probably be the fittest now only because I'm moving a lot better and feeling better with my hips.  I have more range movement and mobility.
So for me, I feel much better on court moving around, and fitness helps.  It makes tennis become a little bit easier for me.  If I can get on top of that, it's a benefit for me.

Q.  There is another open draw here this year.  Feel like it's another opportunity to go to the final?
BERNARD TOMIC:  Yeah, for sure.  I'm looking this week ‑‑ not just this week, you know.  I made a plan for the next three tournaments.  I had the 150 points to defend.
For me, it's about winning tournaments, but the bottom line is this year making as much points as I can and winning as much matches as I can and staying as more consistent as I can, then, you know, winning a tournament and not doing anything for five months.
That's going to be my goal this year, to do as best as I can each tournament.  Now I broke down for three tournaments where I had 150 points to defend.  I did well in Brisbane.
If I can just remain inside the top 50 or push higher, after the Australian Open this is going to be huge for me.  Then the six months I can push forward for the top 15, even 20.

Q.  Wimbledon must be a big goal, to get a seeding there as high as possible.
BERNARD TOMIC:  Yeah, for sure.  That's going to help if I can get inside the top 20, 30 before Wimbledon and get seeded on those grass court tournaments.  That's going to help a lot for me.
That's my goal.  I am pushing as much as I can.  It's a huge opportunity here to do well.  I'm going to keep playing the tennis that I have to play to win these matches here in Sydney.

Q.  Guys like Kyrgios and Thanasi coming through give you more hunger?
BERNARD TOMIC:  Look, it's very motivating for myself and for them.  It's always good to see players coming through.  It gives motivation, not just to myself, but to other people other kids that are coming through.
It's going to make them think, If they can do it, maybe I can.  That's what you want at the end of the day.  You want more players coming through and more Australian young kids coming through.
Hopefully that pushes and encourages like myself other kids playing tennis, which is the important thing.

Q.  Sharing the spotlight in Sydney, how does that suit you?  Last couple years it's been all about you.  You said you enjoyed that.
BERNARD TOMIC:  Yeah, I mean, every tournament ‑‑ there are some tournaments you always play well in and you feel the court and the dimensions and the atmosphere.
For me, I love playing here for some reason.  It just makes my play my best tennis.
Even in Melbourne I've always played well.  I love this court.  The center court in Sydney is one of the nicest courts for me to play on, the Rosewall Arena.
Every match I get now I feel, you know, a lot better than I actually am and I can push my game to the new level.  Doesn't matter who I'm playing, I feel very confident on court.  I love playing in Sydney.  One of the nicest tournaments for me.

Q.  Playing Kohlschreiber next.  Talk about that match.
BERNARD TOMIC:  Not easy.  Very difficult.  He plays a style that's tough, and he likes those rallies where you move him around.  Going to be a tough match.  I have to serve well.  If I can serve the way I served today, then I'm going to have confidence leading into that match.
But I have to start well from the start.  I know learned in Brisbane I start a little bit slow in the quarterfinals against Kei and got kicked off the court in like an hour.
If have to start very good against these guys.  If I start well, I can hold them and potentially maybe even break them in the first set.

Q.  Given this was the fittest that you felt, what would be the minimum expectation of yourself in 2015?
BERNARD TOMIC:  For sure, look, people have asked me this before.  I'll say it once again:  I think last year, if I had gotten from the start of the year and someone would've told me, Would you like to finish 50, 55 in the world with two double hip surgeries?  I would've taken that any day.
For me, last year was a plus.  I did my hips, something that I needed to do.  This year was going to be a new approach.  I have a lot of tournaments I can play in the first six months.  If I want to push through the top 20, that's going to be my goal, then I can set higher goals.
But I really realistically I think it's very possible for me.  I just to have continue work, and like I said before, consistently do well each week and pick up points.  That's going to matter the most.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports