Tomic exits Paris Masters at the hands of Wawrinka
Bernard Tomic has crashed out of the Paris Masters, going down 6-3 7-6 (8-6) to French Open champion Stanislas Wawrinka in the second round.
Tomic was well placed to take the second set when he led 5-2 in the tiebreak but was unable to close it out against the world No.4.
“I was not in a good position, that’s for sure,” Wawrinka said, who is bidding to become the first player to win the French Open and the Paris Masters in the same year since Andre Agassi in 1999.
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“I played one good point, aggressive, then he missed an easy forehand, and you’re back.”
Wawrinka will now face either Spanish 15th seed Feliciano Lopez or Serbian Viktor Troicki.
Eighth-seeded Spaniard David Ferrer also advanced to the third round when he swept aside Alexandr Dolgopolov of Ukraine 6-2 6-2.
World No.1 Novak Djokovic was given a decent workout by Brazilian Thomaz Bellucci as he opened his Paris Masters campaign with a 7-5 6-3 second-round win.
Djokovic, who is bidding to win the Paris indoor title for an unprecedented third time in a row, broke to love in the last game of the opening set, playing tighter when it mattered.
He broke again in the eighth game of the second set as Bellucci sent a forehand long and closed out the match on serve to snatch his fifth win against Bellucci in as many encounters.
Top seed Djokovic next faces a Frenchman and 14th seed Gilles Simon or Benoit Paire.
The Paris Masters is the last tournament before the season-ending ATP World Tour finals, which will be played between the eight best players of the season from November 15-22 in London.
Djokovic, Wawrinka, Roger Federer, Rafa Nadal, Kei Nishikori, Andy Murray, Tomas Berdych and Ferrer have all qualified.
– AAP