Bernard Tomic is back in the winner’s circle with the Australian veteran cracking his first Challenger Tour title in eight years.
Reaching the final of the Lincoln Challenger tournament in Nebraska, the 33-year-old showed some grit to save a championship point before downing Estonian Mark Lajal 4-6, 7-6 (4), 7-6 (3).
With a world ranking at 206, down from a career-high of number 17 back in 2016, Tomic started as underdog against 23-year-old Lajal, who is ranked world number 159.
The crafty Queenslander nailed his service games, on target with 72 per cent of first serves as well as nine aces to cause headaches for his rival.
Tomic also had a three-set battle to book his place in the final, downing American wildcard Spencer Johnson 6-7 (5), 6-3, 6-2.
It was his fourth Challenger Tour title, with the last coming in Mallorca in Spain in 2018.
A quarter-finalist at Wimbledon back in 2011 and former junior champion, Tomic recently lost in the second round of qualifying, falling to fellow Australian Chris O’Connell 6-4, 6-4.
On the main ATP Tour, his fourth and last singles title was at the 2015 Colombia Open in Bogota.
AAP
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