Bernard Tomic’s Australian Open comeback bid ends in disaster – and Lleyton Hewitt’s son also struggles

Bernard Tomic’s attempt to return to the Grand Slam circuit has seen him smashed off the court in an embarrassing straight-sets loss at Melbourne’s Kia Arena on Tuesday.

The former world No.17 needed to win three straight sudden-death matches to qualify for the Australian Open but fell at the first hurdle, going down 6-3, 6-1 to Slovakia’s Jozef Kovalik, who is ranked 128 in the world. 

Tomic’s heavy defeat comes after he also endured a horror loss when he contested his first tournament final for six years, going down 6-0, 6-1 in just 39 minutes to America’s Learner Tien in the Fairfield Challenger in San Francisco last October.

That loss set a world record for the fastest defeat in an Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) Challenger Event.

Tomic – who is currently ranked 214th in the world – last played in his home Grand Slam in 2021 and has never made it further than the fourth round in his 11 appearances at the tournament.

Last year Tomic earned $101,170 playing in Challenger and Future events in spots such as Wichita, Little Rock and Calabasas.

The polarising Aussie was wiped off the court in just 61 minutes as he fell to a straight-sets loss to Slovakia’s Jozef Kovalik

The news wasn’t any better for Cruz Hewitt (pictured), who also went out in straight sets – but unlike Tomic, the 16-year-old will have many more chances to play his home Grand Slam

The 32-year-old would have more than doubled that in one week if he’d qualifies for the Open to secure a minimum $132,000 payday for even losing in the first round.

Cruz Hewitt’s hopes of reaching the Australian Open main draw suffered a huge blow on Tuesday at Melbourne Park after the 16-year-old prodigy was beaten by former world No 16 Nikoloz Basilashvili in two sets.

It was a momentous day for the Hewitt family, with Cruz stepping out onto Court 3 at Melbourne Park, nearly 30 years after his father qualified for his first Australian Open.

It came as attentions this week have been diverted away from the star’s much anticipated Australian Open qualifying debut after Nick Kyrgios published a post on social media that appeared to criticise Hewitt’s decision to share a practice hit with Jannik Sinner.

The Italian has caught the ire of Kyrgios in recent months after he failed two tests for a banned substance but has avoided a suspension, but the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) is set to appeal the decision next year.

Hewitt took to Instagram to share shared pictures of Sinner and himself preparing for the tournament this week. 

But Kyrgios was quick to reply to the snaps, writing: ‘Love ya Cruz but this is wild.’ He later added: ‘Cooked post’ before appearing to play down the incident claiming his comments were a joke between two friends.

Hewitt gave his fans plenty of reasons to expect he’ll one day face the sport’s biggest stars in Melbourne despite his defeat on Tuesday

On Tuesday, Hewitt quashed any doubts over his abilities or claims of favouritism, despite suffering a two-set defeat. Some have questioned whether last year’s Newcombe Medallist had been gifted a qualifying berth because of his dad’s stature in the sport.

He had previously addressed those claims of favouritism stating: ‘It is what it is, but I don’t really mind. It just drives me to be better.’

And Hewitt seemingly put many of those claims to bed, showcasing his accuracy, thumping serve and tennis intelligence at times during the match to ask questions of an opponent who has far greater experience playing at the top level than him.

In front of a packed arena of home supporters, who did not stop cheering for the young star throughout the match, Hewitt, who ranks at 1263 on the ATP Tour, impressed as he scrapped hard against the former world No.16.

While he struggled to fend off the Georgian’s attack, with his 32-year-old opponent serving out to love several times in the opening set, Hewitt shocked fans with his first serve of the match, rattling a monstrous stroke into the far corner of the box for an ace.

The Georgian is looking to qualify for his ninth berth in the main draw this week and got his Australian Open qualifying campaign off to a great start, taking a 5-0 lead in the first set against Hewitt.

But Hewitt wouldn’t be beaten to love, fighting back late in the first set, forcing an error from Basilashvili with a perfectly weighted strike to the baseline to pull a game back of his own.

Lleyton Hewitt (left) is pictured watching his son, nearly 30 years after he qualified for his first Australian Open

Even with the crowd behind him chanting ‘Aussie, Aussie, Aussie, Oi, Oi, Oi,’ the first set was too far out of Hewitt’s grasp at this point, but riding high on a boost at having nicked a game off his opponent, Hewitt bounced back in the second set, claiming a massive break point at 2-1, outclassing his 32-year-old opponent with a brilliantly timed backhand.

Unfortunately for the young Aussie, he could not take the opportunity to take a foothold, failing to hold his own serve before being beaten 3-2.

While he was down, he was most certainly not giving up, with Hewitt again forcing Basilashvili to dig deep, saving two break points at 4-2.

The Georgian struggled to break Hewitt in the resulting exchange but turned on the gas serving out to love, before clinching victory and a spot in the second round of qualifying with a 6-4 win.

For Hewitt, it will be back to the drawing board, but there will be plenty of positives to take away from this match. 

Coming up against a seasoned ATP Tour player, the youngster certainly held his own and impressed patrons around Court 3 by moving Basilashvili around the court with some excellent shots.