Bernard Tomic needed almost two hours to complete a comeback victory over Tunisia’s Malek Jaziri and book himself a spot in the main draw of the Rogers Cup in Toronto on Sunday.
The 21-year-old Aussie, who won his second career ATP title in Bogota two weeks ago, is trying to climb his way back up the rankings after dropping outside the top-100 earlier this summer.
He peaked at No27 in the world two years ago but off-court problems and a double hip surgery have seen him slip.
Tomic hit 11 aces en route to his 4-6, 6-1, 6-4 win over Jaziri, who was looking to make his main draw debut in Canada.
Tomic led 4-2 in the first set but Jaziri struck back, winning four games in a row to wrap up the opening set. The Australian broke in the fourth game of the second and this time managed to consolidate for a 4-1 lead.
Tomic sealed the second set with his eighth ace of the match to draw level and force a decider.
The pair remained neck and neck in the final set but it was Tomic who got the crucial break in the seventh game and it was all he needed to move into the main draw.
Jaziri is still in Toronto as he hopes to still make it into the main draw as a lucky loser.
