Bernard Tomic suffers fresh blow after Wimbledon controversy
Bernard Tomic's tennis woes have continued with a first-round loss at the grass-court Hall of Fame Open in Newport.
The Australian was beaten 2-6 6-7 (5-7) in one hour and 20 minutes at the hands of world No.141 Ilya Ivashka.
Broken twice in the 30-minute opening set, he bounced back to lead 4-1 in the second frame before losing four of the next five games as Ivashka forced the tiebreak.
The early exit leaves the embattled Tomic, the world No.103, in an ongoing battle to secure direct qualification for the US Open next month.
He was stripped of his AU$80,000 prize money at Wimbledon for performing "below professional standards" in a first-round defeat to Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.
The Queenslander, who has taken legal advice to oppose the sanction, is on the outer with less than six weeks till the final grand slam of the year.
Tomic is next scheduled to enter qualifying for the Atlanta Open, an ATP 250 tournament, this weekend.
He returned to the court after Wimbledon in the second-tier Winnipeg Challenger tournament last week, playing as the No.1 seed.
But his charge was ended by world No.230 Zhe Li in the second round.
"You think in the back of your mind, you know, (Tomic) might not show up," tournament director Mark Arndt said before the event began.
"I was very just very thankful when I saw that he was actually sitting on our courts, getting ready to tie up his shoes and get his racquet ready and go hit some balls.
"It was nice to see him here and in the end, I'm very happy that he's here."
‘I didn’t lose 6-0 6-0 6-0’
Tomic’s controversial loss to Tsonga was the shortest Wimbledon men's match for 15 years and the second shortest men's singles match at the All England Club since records began in 2002.
"Flying from Turkey and losing in (the) quarter-finals (there), playing few matches in 40C heat and I was run down and became a bit unwell over the weekend," Tomic told News Corp Australia.
"I then competed with one of the top five players on grass, losing 6-2 6-1 6-4. I didn't lose 6-0 6-0 6-0.
"From the start of the match I knew I had very little chance because I was feeling down but I thought I would go on court to try (because) it's Wimbledon."
Compatriot’s rebuild goes on
Meanwhile, fellow Australian Matthew Ebden is set to kick off his Newport campaign overnight as he continues to seek a turnaround in fortunes ahead of the US Open.
The 31-year-old has collapsed from inside the top 50 to this week sit 110th following a first-round retirement at a Challenger tournament in Winnetka, Illinois.
Ebden, who has won just four of 20 matches this year, will face world No.97 Brayden Schnur in Newport.
with AAP
