Continuing his recovery from surgeries, Bernard Tomic is hoping to return at the Monte Carlo Masters in April. The 22-year-old Australian underwent two hip surgeries after the Australian Open. Tomic's doctors believe he should move more freely than he did during his Australian Open first-round loss to Rafael Nadal when a groin injury forced him to retire.
"For having had bilateral hip surgery, he's doing very well, a little bit better than I thought he would at this time," physio Ivan Gutierrez told The Age. "All the time that we've been working together he's been committed to the treatment, and he knows the importance of it because all his career is just going to hinge on that, and hopefully he will be back soon and be able to play without pain, and regain more flexibility than he used to have.
"He's been very restricted, because tennis being a flexion, or bent-over type of a sport, and him being so tall, his limitations were significant, especially playing on grass and hard courts. It forced him to bend a little bit more than he had to, hence irritating the hip joints a little bit more than you normally would. Now he has much more rotation both ways...I'm expecting between 20 to 30 per cent on what he had. We're hoping for 30, but 20 would be great."