Bernard Tomic will take part in his first career ATP final on Saturday, sure to have the Sydney crowd firmly in his corner. Standing in Tomic’s way of the title is Kevin Anderson.
Bernard Tomic has been insisting the future is now for quite some time. Finally, he may be right. Another glimpse into that future could come on Saturday, when Tomic competes in his first career ATP final at the Apia International.
Tomic and Kevin Anderson will be squaring off for the third time in their careers. Anderson prevailed 7-6(8), 6-1 in a 2010 grass-court Challenger event before Tomic gained a measure of revenge courtesy of a 7-6(5), 6-7(4), 6-3 victory in round one of the 2011 Shanghai Rolex Masters.
Two seasons later, both men are playing some of the best tennis of their careers. Tomic predicted that there would be no stopping him in 2013, and so far there has been nothing of the sort. The 20-year-old Australian upset Novak Djokovic at the Hopman Cup and he has come up clutch during a far more important week in Sydney. Tomic booked his spot in the final by defeating Marinko Matosevic, Florian Mayer, Jarkko Nieminen, and Andreas Seppi.
Anderson just barely missed out on Australian Open seeding with a ranking of No. 36 in the world. The 6’8” South African went 2-1 in singles at the Hopman Cup, beating John Isner and Fernando Verdasco before losing to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in two tiebreakers. Anderson opened in Sydney with wins over Aljaz Bedene, Feliciano Lopez, and Denis Istomin then he survived Julien Benneteau 3-6, 6-4, 7-6(8) on Friday.
Anderson-Benneteau highlights:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KdrYlg6ixaQ]
“It’s not an easy final,” Tomic assured. “If he serves really well it’s going to be difficult. It will be about who returns better and who makes the most of their opportunities.”
Anderson has a clear edge in experience, owner of a 2-1 lifetime record in ATP finals. He has a slight advantage in the serving department and he will need to put in a high percentage of first deliveries in order to prevent extended baseline rallies. Tomic is playing with home-court advantage and he is brimming with confidence (what’s new?). It just feels like Tomic’s week, and he is playing too well to pick against him.
Odds: Tomic -150, Anderson +120
Pick: Tomic 6-4, 5-7, 6-3
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