Bernard Tomic dug deep to overcome a mid-match dizzy spell, and losing a two-set lead, in an upset win over American 21st seed Sam Querrey at Wimbledon on Tuesday.
The world No.59 joined Samantha Stosur and Lleyton Hewitt in the second round, but James Duckworth and Matt Ebden lost their first-round matches.
Tomic called a doctor in the fourth set of a 7-6 (8-6) 7-6 (7-3) 3-6 2-6 6-3 victory complaining of dizziness and poor vision, later attributing the problem to under-eating at breakfast.
Tomic next faces American veteran James Blake in the second round tonight and he was relieved to have survived Tuesday’s gruelling encounter against big-serving Querrey, who blasted 36 aces.
“I felt very bad out there,” Tomic said.
“I lost my energy and I think that was due to I didn’t eat as much in the morning.
“Lucky, somehow I won. Nightmare.”
Trailing Querrey 4-1 in the fourth set, Tomic received treatment for around 10 minutes.
Querrey was reportedly angered, feeling Tomic should have played through the problem, but Tomic defended the move.
“He has to put himself in my shoes if he was feeling bad,” Tomic said.
“At that time I was doing the best thing to make myself feel as good as I can on the court.”
Tomic’s win helped put him put behind a troubled few months featuring injury worries and the drama surrounding his father and coach.
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“It’s big. To win here, to beat a big seed like Sam, is a good feeling,” Tomic said.
John Tomic, who is facing an assault charge, was not on-site, with his ATP coaching credentials suspended and Wimbledon officials barring him from attending, even as a spectator.
His son took another opportunity to blast ATP officials over the matter and said he would lobby tournament officials in the hope his father could join him for the rest of the tournament.
Earlier, Stosur blasted her way into the second round with a dominant 6-1 6-3 win over Slovakian teenager Anna Schmiedlova.
The 14th seed declared it one of her better performances on grass as she set up a second-round clash with Russian Olga Puchkova.
“I feel pretty good going into the next round,” Stosur said.
A strong fightback proved in vain for Duckworth in a 6-4 6-2 3-6 4-6 6-1 loss to a fellow qualifier, American Denis Kudla.
Wild card Ebden became the fourth Australian man to lose in the first round when he fell in a 6-2 6-4 6-3 defeat to Japanese 12th seed Kei Nishikori.
Top seed and world No.1 Novak Djokovic moved into the Wimbledon second round on Tuesday with a 6-3 7-5 6-4 win over Germany’s Florian Mayer.
Djokovic, the 2011 champion, goes on to face either Bobby Reynolds or Steve Johnson.
Spanish fourth seed David Ferrer beat Argentina’s Wimbledon debutant Martin Alund 6-1 4-6 7-5 6-2.
Bulgarian 29th seed Grigor Dimitrov, the man at the centre of the spat between Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova, cruised past Italy’s Simone Bolelli 6-1 6-4 6-3.
Argentinian eighth seed Juan Martin del Potro, who missed the French Open through illness, saw off Spain’s Albert Ramos 6-2 7-5 6-1.
Five-time Wimbledon champion Serena Williams insisted on Tuesday that her bitter, public feud with Maria Sharapova was not on her mind as she stormed into the second round.
World No.1 Williams racked-up her 32nd successive win with a 6-1 6-3 triumph over Luxembourg’s Mandy Minella, but faced more questions over her controversial remarks about Sharapova’s romance with her ex-boyfriend, Bulgarian player Grigor Dimitrov.
“No, it hasn’t been a distraction. Like I said, I’m just here to focus on the tennis,” said the 31-year-old Williams.
“I am just here to play Wimbledon. It’s the premier tournament in the world, of the year, so that’s what’s most important.”
Williams said at the weekend that she had apologised to Sharapova for the jibe which had appeared in a Rolling Stone interview.
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The Russian star had hit back with a vitriolic attack on Williams’ current relationship with French coach Patrick Mouratoglou.
However, the two players have yet to meet on site at the All England Club since the storm broke which may be just as well as they would share the same Champions locker room, separate from the other women.
“We’re playing on opposite days, so we don’t really see each other,” said Williams.
The American took out her frustrations on the hapless Minella, the world No.92 who has never defeated a top-30 player, let alone one of the calibre of Williams, whose French Open title three weeks ago took her majors haul to 16.
Victory was also her 75th in her last 78 matches, a run that stretches back to her shock first round departure at Roland Garros in 2012, the worst Grand Slam exit of her career.
Tuesday’s 32nd successive win took her to within just three of the record set by older sister Venus in 2000.
Williams goes on to face French qualifier Caroline Garcia, who she beat in the second round in Paris, for a place in the last 32.
Also on Tuesday, 42-year-old Japanese veteran Kimiko Date-Krumm had an even easier time getting past an opponent less than half her age, German teenager Carina Witthoeft 6-0 6-2 in just 44 minutes.
Last year’s runner-up Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland cruised to a 6-1 6-1 win over Yvonne Meusburger of Austria, while sixth-seeded Li Na of China and No.7 Angelique Kerber of Germany also advanced in straight sets.
Home favorite Laura Robson delivered the biggest upset, beating 10th-seeded Maria Kirilenko 6-3 6-4 to become the first British woman to beat a top-10 ranked opponent at Wimbledon in 15 years.
In less of a surprise, Arantxa Rus lost – again.
The 156th-ranked Dutch player equalled a WTA record by extending her losing streak to 17 straight matches with a 6-4 6-2 defeat to Russia’s Olga Puchkova.
“This year is not a good year for me,” Rus said.
HOW THE AUSTRALIANS FARED ON DAY TWO AT WIMBLEDON
Women’s singles first round
14-Samantha Stosur bt Anna Schmiedlova (Svk) 6-1 6-3
Men’s singles, first round
Bernard Tomic bt 21-Sam Querrey (Usa) 7-6 (8-6) 7-6 (7-3) 3-6 2-6 6-3
James Duckworth lost to Denis Kudla (Usa) 6-4 6-2 3-6 4-6 6-1
Matt Ebden lost to 12-Kei Nishikori (Jap) 6-2 6-4 6-3
