Lleyton Hewitt believes Bernard Tomic’s ability to handle the hometown pressure is great news for him and the Australian Open.
Hewitt said the 20-year-old Australian No.1, who was on a 10-match winning streak before Saturday night’s straight sets loss to Swiss great Roger Federer, had done himself proud and could not have delivered much more.
While Tomic lost the third round clash 6-4 7-6(7-5) 6-1, he showed enormous poise and ability to go shot-for-shot with the 17-time major winner for most of the first two sets before eventually fading.
“Bernard’s had another good tournament,” Hewitt said.
“He played really well. He took it to Roger, that’s all he could have asked of himself going into the match.
“It was always going to be a tough match-up.
“I think Roger was always going to be up for tonight too, to really test himself and get a good look at where he’s at going into the second week of another major.”
Hewitt said Tomic’s third-set fade-out showed his fitness was an area he could still improve to match the likes of Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal, who can keep slugging away in such high-pressure contests for five sets.
But he said the fact that his sometimes-Davis Cup teammate could produce his best on the big stage in front of home fans was a great sign.
“He can play at home and that’s good news for him and for the Australian Open,” Hewitt said.
The former world No.1 also suggested the mid-year stretch that caused Tomic’s rankings and confidence slump last year, when he went 0-3 in three grasscourt tournaments including a Wimbledon first-round loss, could be the catalyst for a surge this year.
Hewitt said that slump was probably the root of Tomic’s mental drop-off late last year, after he had reached a Wimbledon quarter-final in 2011.
“He felt the pressure going into that particular tournament,” Hewitt told the Seven Network.
“He didn’t handle that as well as he would have liked … the wheels fell off a bit around that grasscourt time.
“… He’s going to have no points to defend going into this grasscourt season so that’s a massive positive.”