Bernard Tomic was today announced as the first Australian wildcard to join the men’s draw at the Brisbane International this January.
The Gold Coast teenager, who just won the second Australian Money Tournament at Melbourne Park last weekend, joins world No.3 Novak Djokovic, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Fernando Verdasco in the men’s draw.
Brisbane International Tournament Director Steve Ayles said he is delighted have an Australian rising junior as part of the Brisbane International.
“Tomic shows a lot of promise and it will be fantastic for him to debut on the ATP tour in his home state at his home-town tournament.
“The Brisbane International will be a great learning curve for Tomic where he will be able to experience some top level tennis against some of the best players in the world.
“It will be great to see him step up in front of a home crowd where he will have some strong support.”
At the age of 15, Tomic won the Australian Open boys’ singles title and reached the semifinal of the boys’ singles at Wimbledon and the quarterfinals at the French Open in 2008.
He was selected for his first Davis Cup squad in September this year and is the first player in history to win the 12/u, 14/u, and 16/u Orange Bowl trophies in the world junior championships in Florida.
Having just made the transition to the men’s circuit, Tomic has played some lower tier Futures tournaments in Australia and just missed out on a quarterfinal birth at the Australian Open wildcard play-off, missing out to Colin Ebelthite who went on to become the overall winner.
Tickets are now on sale for the Brisbane International through Ticketek, with reserved stadium seating starting at just $24.90.
Tickets can be purchased online at www.ticketek.com.au or 1300 888 104.