By Chris Oddo
16-time Grand Slam champion Roger Federer will find himself across the net from a very tricky foe in the Australian Open’s round of 16, but for his opponent, 19-year-old Bernard Tomic, the thought of playing Federer in a match of such massive implications has to be downright surreal.
“He’s my favorite player,” said Tomic, after his scintillating third-round victory over Alexandr Dolgopov on Rod Laver Arena two days ago. “I don’t enjoy watching tennis, but when Roger plays on TV it’s a pleasure to watch.”
For Tomic, who finagled a set off of Federer on grass when his Australian Davis Cup team hosted the Swiss in 2011, the idea of playing the man that he first met at age 12 must seem like a dream. “I don’t know what I was thinking then,” said Tomic of the initial meeting. “I was probably into Pokémon cards at 12.”
But don’t let the baby talk or the admiration fool you. The Australian No. 1 is mature enough – and enough of a gamesman – to know how to be effusive with praise for a future opponent; he’s also confident enough to conduct an entirely different internal dialogue as he prepares for one of the biggest challenges of his burgeoning career. As much as Tomic admires Federer’s game, he’d like nothing more than to become the first teenager to defeat Federer since Andy Murray did it in 2006.
It remains to be seen how Tomic will match up on the Grand Slam stage with a player who is perhaps the shrewdest of them all when it comes to dissecting young, doe-eyed up-and-comers, but one thing is for sure: Tomic will not lack for self-belief. If anything, the youngster is borderline cocky. “I’m beating the top players in the world and having chances and playing for spots in quarterfinals of Grand Slams,” said Tomic with an air of surety. “This year’s been great; it’s the start of a good year for me, so I’d like to play Roger.”
Federer, who’ll be playing the 999th match of his brilliant career when he and Tomic take the court tonight, is no doubt braced for a stiff challenge from the youngest player left in the men’s draw. “Obviously being young makes him still somewhat of a mystery,” said Federer “maybe just because he’s changing his game as he’s progressing along the way.”
After their previous meeting in Sydney, which was played in blustery conditions on a patchy grass court, Federer said of Tomic: “I think he's really lived up to the expectations this year and he's still on the rise... I think this weekend's going to give him a lot for the rest of his career.”
Now that he’s facing Tomic in a crucial match, Federer’s probably hoping that the weekend didn’t give Tomic too much of what he’ll need to win – or that he doesn’t rise too rapidly.
Tomic is hoping the opposite. And he’s all ears when it comes to listening to advice on how to accelerate his rise.
When Tomic told reporters at a press conference that he spent some time chatting with Federer after the Davis Cup, they asked him if he was able to glean any words of wisdom from living legend. “He gave me a few tips,” said Tomic with a chuckle “which is good now because I play him.”