Marinko Matosevic’s rich form under new mentor Mark Woodforde continues while top-ranked Australian Bernard is struggling to spark his US Open build up.
Coming off his quarter-final run at the Washington Open, qualifier Matosevic had little trouble accounting for Benjamin Becker 6-2 6-3 in the first round of the Montreal Masters on Monday.
But countryman Tomic failed to capitalise on a strong start as he fell to another German veteran, Florian Mayer, 5-7 6-3 6-3.
Beset by unspecified off-court personal concerns, Matosevic had lacked consistency since May but linking with Woodforde a month ago paid off as the world No.74 backed up strong wins over world No.13 Milos Raonic, James Blake and Nikolay Davydenko last week.
Tomic, who lost his second match in Washington to eventual champion Juan Martin Del Potro, complained of windy conditions against Mayer but was more upset with his own lack of initiative after winning the opening set.
He will have to hit the practice courts after missing a chance to build up some valuable hardcourt experience before the start of the US Open in three weeks.
“I was up 5-2 in the first set and should have closed it out in the second,” said 41-ranked Tomic. “In the second set, I didn’t start that well. My concentration dropped and he played well.”
“Florian is one of those guys who plays well once he gets his nose ahead.
“In the first set, he was tight but, in the second, I missed my opportunities and didn’t focus very well – he took over then.”