Watching Bernard Tomic's masterful 7-6 (7), 5-7, 7-5, 7-6 (5) victory over Richard Gasquet in Wimbledon's third round, I was struck by how much time the young Australian seems to have. Although he is 6-foot-5 and powerfully built, Tomic never appears hurried as he moves with a grace and efficiency reminiscent of Miloslav Mecir, who was nicknamed the Big Cat back in the late 1980s.
The way Tomic holds the ball on his strings for an extra instant furthers the perception that he is seeing and sensing the action earlier than other players. I found myself thinking of Wayne Gretzky, the hockey player whose anticipation and sense of where to move was regarded by many as a kind of athletic extrasensory perception. Gretzky also seemed to have more time than the players around him.
Although Gasquet won 13 more points than Tomic (160 to 147), Tomic had control of the match at most of the critical moments late in each set. In contrast to Tomic's seeming nonchalance, Gasquet looked unsure of himself as he tried to figure out how to counter Tomic's unusual mix of powerful serving and creative backcourt play. Gasquet's incredible backhand was neutralized by Tomic, who mixed in slicing backhands with his solid two-hander. In this regard Tomic plays a bit like Andy Murray in that he absorbs pace and returns the ball in a neither offensive or defensive manner, but instead more neutral. On the next ball he may throw in a low skidding slice; or he might shift suddenly into all-out offense. It is fascinating to watch how creative Tomic is with the ball.
Tomic's Round of 16 opponent is one of the game's best power players, Tomas Berdych, who narrowly got by Kevin Anderson, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, 7-5. Where Tomic plays with uncanny anticipation and a great deal of variety, Berdych keeps it simple, with big serving and flat powerful ground strokes. When he is on, he is overpowering.
But the Berdych forehand is fascinating to behold. He does not seem to swing very hard, nor does he look like he is trying to rip the cover off the ball. But when he connects the sound is percussive and the ball moves at a pace that is amazing to see. How does he hit with such effortless power? The answer lies in the way he uses his legs to generate a tremendous amount of force from the ground up through his kinetic chain and out through his racket in one of the most efficient uses of power I've ever seen.
If Tomic can serve as effectively as he did against Gasquet, he could advance to the quarterfinals, where he would play the winner of the Novak Djokovic-Tommy Haas match. Tomic hit an astonishingly 81 percent of his first serves on Saturday, but he won only 47 percent of second serve points. Berdych struggled with his serve against Anderson, with only 53 percent of his first serves in, and winning only 47 percent of second serve points. This match will be a prizefight between two expert grass-court players with contrasting styles.
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