Bernard Tomic is two wins away from an 11th Australian Open appearance after battling for more than two hours to win his first-round qualifying match in Doha.
Fetching his own balls without ball kids and playing before no crowds, a focused and determined Tomic outlasted Slovakian Jozef Kovalik 6-4 3-6 6-4 in a sweat-soaked baseline grind on Monday night.
Australia’s one-time world No.17 broke Kovalik in the first and last games of the epic encounter and fought many mental and physical demons in between.
Without a top-level tour win in 18 months and having earned just $US23,684 during his COVID-ravaged 2020 campaign, Tomic has plummeted to No.228 in the rankings.
But the fallen star showed no signs of the back injury that forced his retirement from a UTR match in Brisbane last month as he overcame an opponent ranked almost 100 places above him.
Tomic continued a successful second day of qualifying for Australian men.
He next faces young West Australian Tristan Schoolkate, who beat Argentine Guido Andreozzi 7-6 (7-1) 6-4.
Andrew Harris and journeyman John-Patrick Smith also progressed.
Harris defeated Belgian Davis Cup stalwart Ruben Bemelmans 6-4 5-7 6-3, while Smith beat Italian Paolo Lorenzi 7-5 6-1 to join day-one winners Jason Kubler and Rinky Hijikata in the second round.