Stunning Tomic in ATP triumph

IS THIS the new Bernard Tomic?

There were fist pumps, furious dropshot chases and four match points saved as the Australian claimed a stunning first ATP tournament victory in three years at China’s Chengdu Open last night.

The oft-maligned 25-yearold dug deep to snatch a brave 6-1 3-6 7-6 (9-7) win over world No.13 Fabio Fognini.

He hadn’t played someone ranked as high as Fognini in a year – let alone claimed a win against such a player – but Tomic finished off a long week in fighting style.

Coming into the tournament as a qualifier ranked 123rd in the world, Tomic won seven consecutive matches to take out the title.

He’s projected to rise to about No.77 in the world and looks to have safely secured automatic entry to next year’s Australian Open, a tournament he failed to qualify for in 2018.

A major outsider against the top-seeded Italian, Tomic consistently frustrated his opponent with excellent ball placement and a surprising willingness to stay in points.

Tomic raced through the first set 6-1 before the Italian found his feet in the second to level the match.

The third set became an arm wrestle: Fognini breaking to start the decider before Tomic won the next three games. Fognini then levelled again. From there the match stayed on serve, with Fognini seemingly grabbing control of the tiebreak when up 6-3 on serve.

But showing a new-found resolve, Tomic battled back with two service breaks before eventually serving out the match.