Only a miracle win from Lleyton Hewitt can save Australia from its worst Wimbledon men’s campaign since 1938.
Bernard Tomic’s 3-6 6-3 6-4 6-4 loss to Belgian wildcard David Goffin on Tuesday left Hewitt as the last Aussie standing in the men’s singles.
The 2002 champion was trailing French fifth seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 3-2 in the first set, with games going to serve, when rain forced the suspension of play.
Not since World War II has Australia not had a representative in the men’s singles at the All England Club.
But that was the dire reality facing the 28-times Davis Cup-winning nation unless Hewitt could turn back the clock and upset Tsonga, who last year beat Roger Federer from two sets down to make the semi-finals.
Tsonga also held four match points against world No.1 Novak Djokovic in the French Open quarter-finals.
Tomic’s loss was also a costly one personally for the teenager after he last year became the youngest quarter-finalist at the All England Club since Boris Becker in 1986.
His failure to defend those mass of points will lead to a tumble down the standings from No.28 in the world to outside the top 40 – or worse.
After taking the first set, Tomic was unable to cope with Goffin’s deceptive power and relentless retrieving on Wimbledon’s so-called graveyard court number two.
Despite his own lowly ranking of No.70 in the world, Goffin arrived in London with high hopes after bursting to prominence with an eye-catching run from qualifying to the last 16 at the French Open.
Showcasing his talents, the 21-year-old took the opening set off Roger Federer at Roland Garros before the Swiss maestro finally eliminated Goffin in four.
Tomic was favoured to have too many guns for Goffin on grass, but the Belgian barely missed and scrambled like a terrier to have Australia’s 20th seed under enormous pressure throughout.
Tomic’s frustrations boiled over after he dropped serve in the opening game of the pivotal third set and obliterated his racquet, resulting in a code violation for unsportsmanlike conduct.
His sorry exit left the Queenslander without a single win from three grasscourt tournaments since the French Open.
He quit mid-match against Tommy Haas in his opening match at Halle before blowing a big lead in a first-round loss to Italian Fabio Fognini at Eastbourne last week.
Tomic conceded after that loss he was only 80 per cent fit entering Wimbledon after battling a virus post-French Open.
He was clearly struggling physically as he gasped for air and clutched his lower back early in the third set.
He bravely tried to stay in the match but was unable to convert either of two break-back chances in the third set as Goffin closed in on another big scalp.
The Belgian, whose power off the ground defies his lightweight 68kg frame, refused to yield and he claimed the decisive break in the third game of the fourth set and held firm to serve out the match after two and a half hours.
Rounding out a forgettable day, Tomic was booed off court after smashing a second racquet into the lush green grass after bombing out.
Fellow Australian Matt Ebden also lost on Tuesday, falling 6-1 6-3 6-7 (1-7) 6-3 to Frenchman Benoit Paire after Marinko Matosevic went out on Monday.
