Bernard Tomic defeats Ivo Karlovic to win Claro Open in Bogota, Colombia

The young (21) troubled Australian  tennis player, who was dumped by his management company last week, has defeated reigning champion Ivo Karlovic(35) 7-6 (5), 3-6, 7-6 (4) in the final of the Claro Open in Bogotá, Colombia on Tuesday.

Tomic overcame 39 aces from Karlovic, just five less than his three set record established earlier this year at Zagreb.Tomic said about Karlovic: “He is a very difficult payer, he won here last year. For me it was a difficult match. I keep trying and believing in myself. Against him, if you stop believing and trying he will beat you” he also said: “it´s my first tournament on hard courts since my surgeries in Australia. This title is huge and it´s one I will always remember” 

This is the second title of his career, after his winning in the Sydney International in 2014, and has clearly boosted his ATP ranking enough to re-enter the world’s top 100.

Bernard entered the Claro open as a wildcard after enduring and ATP ranking slip from 27 since running to the fourth round of the 2012 Australian open. This year has been hard on him; first he withdrew in the first roundof the Australian open and then had double hip surgery. Apart from that, Tomic´s career had a new low last week when his longtime management company IMG, with whom first signed with the company as a 12 year old, has terminated his lucrative contract. It’sunderstood the decision was made based on his off-court behavior. The marketing deals earned with IMG included Nike, Yonex, Optus and Qantas.

Tomic´s win will not help him to qualify to the US Open, as the rankings cut-off date has passed last weekend. However, is his first overseas title and comes with a healthy $129,835 paycheck. He also won a funny hat.

By Adriana Rueda

Sources: http://www.atpworldtour.com

Image: The courier mail.com