Bernard Tomic is one win away from successfully defending his 2013 Sydney title. Standing in his way on Saturday, however, is the tournament’s No. 1 seed–Juan Martin Del Potro.
There’s Bernard Tomic in Australia, and then there’s Bernard Tomic everywhere else. The two are not the same–to put it mildly.
Playing in front of his home crowd, the 21-year-old Aussie is through to his second straight Apia International final following wins this week over Marcel Granollers, Blaz Kavcic, Alexandr Dolgopolov, and Sergiy Stakhovsky. Tomic, who beat Kevin Anderson for last season’s title, has also reached at least the third round of the Australian Open on three consecutive occasions.
Up next for Tomic on Saturday, though, is Juan Martin Del Potro. Like his opponent, Del Potro has also survived a pair of three-setters in Sydney–against Nicolas Mahut and then one round later in the quarterfinals versus Radek Stepanek. The fifth-ranked Argentine picked up the pace on Friday and hammered Dmitry Tursunov 6-4, 6-2.
This is the second career meeting between Del Potro and Tomic, with Del Potro having dominated 6-3, 6-3 last summer on the hard courts of Washington, D.C. on his way to the title. The underdog should have a better chance at what is quickly becoming his favorite tournament, but the top seed will likely have too much firepower and too much experience in ATP finals.
Pick: Del Potro in 2
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