SYDNEY, Sept. 16 (Xinhua) -- Bernard Tomic has made it two from two on the first day of the Davis Cup world group playoff in Sydney on Friday, downing Slovakian Jozef Kovalik in a hard fought tussle on grass.
It was a tough rubber for Aussie with Kovalik continuing the fight throughout the match. Kovalik took the first set to a tie break, though Tomic's strong serve kept him on top take the set 7-6 (7-5).
The battle continued throughout the rubber with Tomic on top in the second at 6-4, but Kovalik came back from two breaks down in third from a series of unforced errors from the highly ranked Aussie.
Tomic regained composure from a Kovalic error to take a hard fought break point at 4-4, eventually taking the set 6-4.
Tomic told reporters that Kovalic was playing tough tennis in a similar style to Bosnian Damir Dzumhur who he fell to in the first round of the U.S. open.
"It's not easy to play these sort of players," Tomic told reporters post rubber.
"It doesn't matter grass or hardcourt, this (was) going to be a tough match.
"Everyone in Davis Cup can play a lot better."
The two wins on Friday give Australia a great footing to secure their spot in the 2017 World Group as they look to regain Davis Cup glory.
Though Australia have won the Davis Cup 28 ties, they're currently in their longest running title drought since the end of World War II.
The loser of the tie will be relegated to the Asia Oceania Group One.
