Wimbledon: Bernard Tomic has displayed so much confidence in his dream run to the Wimbledon quarter-finals that it was no surprise by his bullish assessment of his career prospects following the qualifier's four-set defeat by Novak Djokovic on Wednesday.
"I definitely think I have the game, and if I get the mental state, to win a major in the next hopefully two years," the 18-year-old told reporters after his 6-2 3-6 6-3 7-5 loss.
Father and coach John agreed but said it was only the beginning for his young charge.
"It's a very great tournament for Bernard. Eleven years of hard work are paying off now and he's showing the world he can be a really top player," he told Reuters.
"We will not relax. We will continue to work hard."
Australia's Tomic, the world number 158 when the tournament started, is set to rise into the 70s next week and could have rocketed even further up the rankings had illness not led to a shaky start against the Serbian.
"I had a bit of a congestion last night and I didn't sleep as good," Tomic said.
"My immune system wasn't quite as it should have been in the first set, in the first four or five games. That's where he got on a roll."
Tomic, the youngest quarter-finalist since Boris Becker in 1986, hit more winners than his opponent but after a first set in which he was thoroughly outplayed the gulf in class eventually told.
"I don't move as good as Novak. I'd love to improve my returns and return like him. Obviously that would put pressure on the opponent more in the future," the German-born youngster said.
Future is exactly the right word for Tomic, one of the new faces in the game.
"When you do a result like this it tells you you're only a few matches away from winning a title. I know what my goals are now. Rest is one of them," he added with a broad grin.
Comments
0 comment