Bernard Tomic has won his first ATP Tour match since bowing out of the Australian Open in the first round and sparking a war of words with Davis Cup captain Lleyton Hewitt.
The Australian made short work of Lukas Lacko, dismantling the Slovak 6-4 6-2 in their opening-round encounter at the New York Open.
The world No.87 landed 71 per cent of his first serves and saved all three break points against him to wrap up the match in less than an hour.
“Those break points (at 1-2) were important because I felt like if he had have got that early and been up a break 3-1 it’s a whole different story,” Tomic told Tennis Atlantic.
“I felt like today I did the right things. I played pretty well and the courts and conditions suit me.”
The 26-year-old said it was good to get back to winning ways for the first time since claiming his fourth ATP title in Chengdu, China, last September.
“Those matches in Kooyong kind of don’t count,” Tomic said.
“Obviously losing the (Australian Open) first round to (Marin) Cilic was a tough draw.”
With the 2019 monkey off his back, Tomic is desperate for more court time as he seeks to regain match fitness.
“I need to start playing more. That’s my goal for the next month,” he said.
Tomic’s win set up a second-round clash with top seed John Isner, who has a 2-0 record over the Australian.
Despite his banishment from Davis Cup side, Tomic recalled his tight four-set loss to big-serving American Isner at Kooyong in 2016 while wearing green and gold.
“We’ve played a couple of times. Last time I had a chance to win. I lost 7-6 in the fourth in Davis Cup,” he said.
“He has one of the best serves in the world. There’s not much you can do sometimes.
“But I have to go out there and try and play the way I did today.”
Teen Alex Popyrin, who made a run to the last 32 at Melbourne Park, failed to make the main draw after a qualifying loss to Canadian Brayden Schnur, while Jordan Thompson could join Tomic in round two with a win over American wildcard Noah Rubin.
The other first-round winner on Monday in New York was Paolo Lorenzi.