BRISBANE—Bernard Tomic says he breathed a sigh of relief after defeating 18-year-old Thanasi Kokkinakis, 7-6 (2), 6-1, in the second round of Brisbane. The two young Australians had never faced each other before, with the 22-year-old Tomic saying that the teenager has potential.
"Now I know what it feels like to be playing, when I was 18, playing against top players," Tomic said. "It's very tough on them, because it felt like a lot was on me tonight, and I had to step up and prove, obviously, the experience and all the knowledge I had the past few years against Thanasi, and I had to put that into play. He's playing tough tennis. He's serving very good, and going for his forehand and puts me under pressure. So I had to learn tonight to stay with it and use my opportunities when it came. I was happy to play the tiebreak like I did.”