Bernard Tomic is in danger of losing his place in the world’s top 50 after suffering another first-round loss.
A month after crushing Tomic in straight sets in Germany’s Davis Cup playoff win over Australia, Florian Mayer has returned to haunt the teenager at the Shanghai Masters.
Mayer trounced the 19-year-old 6-4 6-0 on Tuesday, the defeat Tomic’s eighth first-up exit in 12 tournaments since the French Open.
After rising to a career-high world No.27 in June, Tomic has slipped to 43rd in the rankings.
And he is certain to fall further after failing to defend rankings points from reaching the last 16 in China last year.