Nerves were no longer a problem for Bernard Tomic as he cruised through the opening Davis Cup reverse singles rubber to give Australia a 4-0 lead over South Korea in Brisbane on Sunday.
World No.36 Tomic looked like a player ranked 805 places higher than Cup debutant Jung-Woong Na as he took less than an hour to win the dead rubber 6-2 6-1.
It was in contrast to the Wimbledon quarter-finalist’s wobbly display in the opening singles clash on Friday.
Indeed the Australian team’s performance had been unconvincing in the tie’s first two days despite booking a World Group playoff in September by taking a 3-0 lead into Sunday.
As a result, the 28-time Cup winners’ task of ending a five-year drought and returning to the elite 16-team group this year looked easier said than done.
The South Korean outfit had left out their six top ranked players reportedly due to a dispute with their federation.
South Korea’s highest ranked singles player in Brisbane was Suk-Young Jeong at No.730.
Yet South Korea had kept Australia honest during the first two days of the tie, even taking a set off the hosts’ doubles pairing of Chris Guccione and Marinko Matosevic on Saturday.
But normal service resumed on Sunday as Tomic blitzed his world No.841-ranked opponent at Pat Rafter Arena.
After the first set went to serve at 2-2, a relaxed Tomic broke as he rattled off the next eight games before Na finally got on the board again.
But the damage had been done.
Matosevic will take on Min-Hyeok Cho in the final reverse singles match on Sunday.



