TENNIS in DEPTH.

Bernard Tomic’s Davis Cup debut has started in the best possible way with a straight sets win in the opening rubber today at Margaret Court Arena.

He handed Australia a 1-0 lead over Chinese Taipei in their Asia–Oceania Zone Group I Round I tie with a 6-2 6-1 6-1 victory.

“Today was the greatest day, probably, of my life – to play on that court and to win,” Tomic said after the match.

“And I played really well. I was up against a player I’d had a lot of tough matches against in juniors and I was lucky I played really well today to beat him.

Tomic was all class in his Davis Cup debut. Not even an early 90-minute rain delay, which stopped the match before it could even begin, could disrupt the 17-year-old’s focus.

The Australian was on top early, breaking his more nervous opponent in the second game of the match. After rushing his shots early, Yang steadied his nerve to hold serve in the fourth game, but Tomic won his next service game to love to ram home his authority and establish a 4-1 lead.

A brief rain delay at 5-2 wasn’t enough for the players to leave the court, but gave both teenagers a moment to compose.

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Bernard Tomic insists everything is now “cool” in his relationship with Lleyton Hewitt after a belated exchange of phone calls between the two biggest names in Australian men’s tennis.

Hewitt had been offended by a perceived snub from Tomic at Wimbledon last year, when the young star turned down an invitation to practise with the former world No.1.

Tomic said it was a misunderstanding as he had been suffering from swine flu.

The 17-year-old phoned Hewitt in December to try and clear the air.

Hewitt called back last week on the eve of the upcoming Davis Cup tie against Taiwan, where Tomic is set to become Australia’s youngest-ever competitor.

“I called Lleyton in December and it was good to hear back from him about a week [ago],” Tomic said on Saturday.

“We spoke, we’ve fixed it all up, it was just a bit of a misunderstanding we had, but we’re all cool now which is the main thing.”

Tomic said he was unconcerned that it took Hewitt more than two months to get back in touch.

“We wanted to focus on the summer, which is probably why I called him and he didn’t call back [until February],” he said.

“There was the Australian Open coming up and a big season.

“He gave me a call after that which was good and we’ve sorted it out.”

Long-time Davis Cup warrior Hewitt is unavailable for the March 5-7 tie against Taiwan at Melbourne Park as he recovers from post-Australian Open hip surgery.

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National selectors have opted for a blend of youth and experience for the upcoming Asia Oceania Zone Group One Davis Cup by BNP Paribas tie against Chinese Taipei at Melbourne Park from March 5 to 7.

Experienced campaigner Peter Luczak has been named alongside 17-year-old Bernard Tomic, Davis Cup regular Carsten Ball and doubles specialist Paul Hanley.

In making his debut Tomic becomes the youngest Australian to be named in the four-man Australian team.

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Deep into Thursday morning, seventeen year-old Australian wunderkind Bernard Tomic proved the hype about his future is well-founded, after a fierce battle with Croatian number 14 seed Marin Cilic for a place in the third round of the Australian Open.

Cilic eventually won the grinding three hour, 48 minute marathon 6-7, 3-6, 4-6, 6-2, 6-4 at 2.08am

Cilic broke the Tomic serve in the ninth game of the deciding set to take a 5-4 lead. Tomic fought out the match to the end, with several long rallies in the final game, but the more experienced baseliner had the winners when it mattered.

After a nine-minute eighth game, Cilic eventually held his serve to level up the epic clash 4-4. Tomic twice held break points, and if he had converted, he would have been serving for victory.

At 1.40am, Tomic won the fifth game to take a 3-2 lead in the deciding set, after a ten minute battle to hold his serve that went to deuce several times. Despite sapping, hard-hitting 20-shot rallies, the young Australian was still finding reserves of skill and energy as the match stretched beyond 200 minutes.

Tomic, ranked 289, was a $4.70 outsider with Betfair to win the match as it went into its fifth and deciding set, but the tenacious Queenslander had already bounced back from losing the second set, exceeding expectations with his stamina in pushing his 21 year-old opponent.

Tomic hit only four aces, compared to the 198cm Croat’s 25, but his persistent ground shots kept him in the match, and his ability to rejuvenate himself after suffering disappointments surprised Cilic, who made the fourth round of this tournament last year.

Tomic hit only 33 winners, compared to Cilic’s 91, but he made fewer unforced errors (63-70), and his consistency, resolve and maturity, backed by the hardy remnants of the evening session crowd at Rod Laver Arena, saw the match go the distance.

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Teenager Bernard Tomic might not excite countryman Lleyton Hewitt but he certainly impressed World No.3 Novak Djokovic on Saturday.

Djokovic was quick to lavish praise on the young Aussie who toppled him in three sets in a useful hit-out during the Kooyong Classic.

Tomic outlasted the Serbian star 6-4 3-6 7-5, providing solid match practice ahead of the youngster’s second Australian Open campaign next week.

Hewitt was dismissive of the 17-year-old recently as their long-running feud dragged on but Djokovic did not hesitate when told Tomic was seen as a player the country was pinning its hopes on.

“They should because he is a very talented player,” Djokovic said.

“He’s only 17 years old and he’s got the shots, he’s got the weapons, definitely.

“He’s got a big serve, he has very good baseline play, a very good feel.

“Talent helps him in these specific situations when he needs to play a good shot and he does it.

“Maybe he needs to work a little bit on his second serve and on the net play but this is all process and it takes time,” he said.

“I’m sure he already has the quality to be in the top 50.

“Tomic said he was pleased to have a three-set match in difficult windy conditions under his belt before his first round clash against a qualifier next week.

“I played well and I took everything seriously today,” Tomic said.

“It was tough conditions out there, the ball swirling around and I couldn’t ask for anything better than to win today so I was happy.

“I just came back from Adelaide and I had a few good wins there and I knew if I played like that I would have a good chance today – and I did, I executed my shots. Sometimes it got a bit windy but in the end I played pretty good.”

Djokovic is trying to introduce a more attacking game into his repertoire under American coach Todd Martin and Tomic said he found that hard to deal with.

“He kept hitting and coming to the net against me and changing it up and I couldn’t pass at all because it was windy.

“But it’s good to play with the wind and I’ve got nothing to lose next week when it starts so hopefully it goes well,” he said.

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Australian young gun Bernard Tomic’s Australian Open preparation is off to a flying start after he beat former world No.15 Robby Ginepri at the World Tennis Challenge in Adelaide.

The 17-year-old Tomic and former US Open quarter-finalist Ginepri fought a close match but the Aussie was too good, winning the first set in a tie break 7-4 before taking out the second set 6-4.

Last year Tomic made it to the second round at Melbourne Park and he is hoping to go further in 2010.

Ginepri is a handy scalp for Tomic to take in his budding career, with the American the winner of three ATP titles.

“I’d definitely like to do better than I did last year,” Tomic told AAP.

“I played well, I knew what I had to do against him.

Ginepri said Tomic was a player to watch, but was keen to play down the significance of the loss in the exhibition event.

“It’s an exhibition, so I don’t know how much people consider a win in these things – they take it with a grain of salt probably,” he said.

“But any time you get a win it’s a good thing and I’m sure he’s been working hard.

“He’s definitely a young talent and he’s going to be someone who I’m going to keep my eye out for.”

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Rising teenager Bernard Tomic fears his 194cm frame is still growing and dreads the thought of resembling a “basketballer” more than a tennis player.

The 17-year-old’s court movement has been seen as an achilles heel in recent times.

The Tomic camp recently employed renowned conditioner Yutaka Nakamura to improve on his fitness and he took three months off after winning the Junior US Open to address his weakness.

But the Gold Coaster, given the last wildcard for next week’s Brisbane International, said his continued growth added another difficult factor into the equation.

“I am [still growing] unfortunately, hopefully I can stop,” he said after an hour-long practice at the Queensland Tennis Centre.

“Obviously I don’t want to be the height of a basketballer, I want to be a good size tennis player but I will deal with it any way.”

Tomic stands a touch taller than grand slam winners Goran Ivanisevic and Marat Safin but is still four centimetres shorter than US Open champion Juan Martin Del Potro.

Hewitt isn’t exactly small at 180cm but is the shortest world No.1 of the modern era and now struggles to compete with taller champions Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.

According to Tennis Australia’s records, Tomic was 191cm 12 months ago, not 184cm as claimed in recent reports, and was listed at 194cm in September, suggesting his growth spurt may have already stopped.

Tomic became the youngest male to win a match at the Australian Open this January and is confident of producing far more in 2010, especially with a serve approaching 200kmh.

“Last year [2009] was a totally different year, it’s one year I’ve grown and I’m more experienced now and so if I can put that into matches when it starts it will be good,” he said.

“I’m playing well now, I had a bit of time off after New York and start working with Yutaka and fitness wise I’m getting good.

“I’m getting stronger each day since I started working with Yutaka.”

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