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AUSTRALIAN OPENJanuary 26, 2008Bernard TomicMELBOURNE, VICTORIA THE MODERATOR: Questions, please. Q. Where did that third set come from? BERNARD TOMIC: I don't know. It was pretty tough. I didn't expect myself to win, you know, how he was playing in the first set. You know, second set I was down a break, you know, 6-4, 4-2, I think. He was just playing unbelievable tennis. He was serving like a top-15 player in the world. It was just impossible to get it back for me at that stage. I managed to believe in myself as much as I could at that stage and I broke him back. You know, luck went my way a bit in the tiebreak, so I was really happy that I won that second set after, you know, not thinking that I could have. I was just happy. I came out in the third set firing, you know, really tried to break his serve. It went good for me in the end. Q. What was the key of getting on top of his serve? BERNARD TOMIC: It was tough. It was just unreadable today. I played him before. He's never served like this. He was serving today for sure like a top 20 player, top 15 player. You know, 215 every serve and it was tough to get back. He hit like 13 aces and I was struggling. But I managed to get that second set, and I was really happy about it. Came out in the third set, you know, with concentration and, you know, a good will, so... Q. Is it a special win, given it's Australia Day? BERNARD TOMIC: Definitely, yeah. I tried to do it as much for the crowd because they were cheering me on in the second set for Australia Day. I believed I could do it, but it was just a matter of breaking the serve. And, yeah. Q. Is that the aspect you're happy with, the amount of grit you showed coming back from that situation? BERNARD TOMIC: Yeah, I'd have to say so. To come back from that situation is a good achievement for me. I was really happy that I did come back and take the second set. But, you know, like I said, I came out in the third set really prepared. I knew what I had to do to, you know, break him early. But that's what I managed to do. You know, I was happy that I won in the end, so... Q. Have you got a plan now as far as sort of towards the men's tour? How soon do you want to move into that? Are there future goals in the juniors you want to achieve first? BERNARD TOMIC: Yeah, I would like to play more futures this year and get, you know, my ranking up to, you know, as high as it can. Hopefully I can, you know, improve on aspects of my game and my serve and my speed around the court, which I need to improve. So that's what I'm looking to work on, you know, the next six months, one year. Hopefully play lots of futures around, you know, the world. So, yeah. Q. I think you've gone from 23 to 3 in juniors rankings in a bit over a month. Is there a chance you could win the juniors championship this year? BERNARD TOMIC: Ranking-wise? Q. Yes. BERNARD TOMIC: Well, depends how many tournaments I play. I think I'll be playing just the next three Slams juniors, and hopefully I can compete well in those. You know, clay is not my favorite surface. It's coming up, French Open. I'll try to prepare as much as I can and see how it goes when it gets to that stage, so... Q. How much confidence have you got now after this week? BERNARD TOMIC: A lot of confidence. Especially that qualifying match where I won 7-5 in the third set against the 140 in the world from Taipei. That really boosted my confidence. You know, in the tiebreaker where I got that 15-13, you know, I haven't lost a tiebreaker since. I've won -- 10-0 in tiebreakers. I'm really confident I got into that tiebreaker. I tried to break his serve, you know, at 5-5, 6-5, but I couldn't. But, you know, the tiebreaker came, and that's where I managed to get that extra point, so I was really happy about it. Q. You guessed his serve like a top 15 player in a world. How would you rate your tennis? BERNARD TOMIC: In the first set there was no question about it, nothing was really going my way. He was just playing the better tennis. But I'd have to say all in all, my form really started coming out in the second, late in the second, and the third set. My backhand down the line was really coming good, so... Q. Are you already like with some strokes in the men's? BERNARD TOMIC: It's tough to say. I've only played, you know, one or two matches against men's in the qualifying in the Oz Open. I think I can hit it as hard as they can. Obviously, they can cover the whole court. They've got stronger legs. They can hit that serve 215, 220. I'm struggling around 195, trying to get that 200 mark. So, yeah. Q. What about the achievement of being the youngest boy to win a Grand Slam title? What does that mean to you? BERNARD TOMIC: Well, I tried to think of it -- in the match to block it out, but it came to me in the third set. I started to think about it. It was Australia Day and I had to put on a good show, so I was really happy to win. I'm the youngest, so it's a good achievement for me. I was happy to win today, so... Q. Do you think that bodes well for your future? There's been a lot of very good players that have been junior champions and gone to on do things. Do you think that counts for something heading into your future? BERNARD TOMIC: I'd have to say so. I'm really confident now to win a junior slam at the youngest age. That's just one of the steps that I need to go. There's another couple more boundaries that I need to build on my game, you know, to become like a top-50 player or top-10 player, which I need to work on in these next years, you know, develop my game more. Hopefully, you know, I can be healthy along the way in the next couple years and, you know, play well, so... Q. What is your goal at the men's? BERNARD TOMIC: This year? Q. No, in general, whole career. BERNARD TOMIC: I'd love to reach the top 10. You know, everyone has dreams in their life to become something special, reaching No. 1 in the world. But, you know, I would love to, you know, play Davis Cup for Australia at the youngest age and, you know, be up there with those guys one day and competing against them. End of FastScripts |
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