Bernard Tomic says he has never felt better heading into an Australian Open campaign despite falling agonisingly short of a berth in the final of his hometown tournament.
Tomic was defeated 7-6(5), 7-6(5) by Milos Raonic in their Brisbane International semifinal on Saturday, with the big-serving Canadian setting up a rematch of last year’s decider against Roger Federer.
Small margins decided the winner with neither player able to break serve, despite a combined six opportunities to do so in a tight first set, and none forthcoming in the second.
Tomic showed great fight to claw back from 5-1 down in both tiebreakers to level the scores, and will take plenty of confidence from his run at the Brisbane event, which peaked with a career-first win over Japanese world No.8 Kei Nishikori in the quarterfinal.
That result all but assured him of a top-16 seeding in Melbourne, provided Stan Wawrinka beats Benoit Paire in the semifinals of the Chennai Open late on Saturday night.
Tomic recognises there is a “huge opportunity” now in front of him.
“This is probably the best I’ve been feeling on court physically, and (I’m) very confident every point I play,” Tomic said.
“This week was very, very good tennis from me. I think I can improve a lot, which is the good thing for me.
“Last year on tour really proved that I can match up with the big guys, I got my fitness up.
“I’m just happy to be this fit and feeling this good on court.”