Even without his father by his side, Bernard Tomic is building in confidence and daring to dream of another run deep into the draw at Wimbledon.
Tomic reached the third round of the grass-court grand slam for the second time with an impressive 6-3 6-4 7-5 defeat of American veteran James Blake on Thursday.
After setting up a showdown with ninth-seeded Frenchman Richard Gasquet on Saturday, Tomic was keen to evoke recollections of his surprise run to the 2011 Wimbledon quarter-finals as an 18-year-old.
“It brings back a lot of memories,” Tomic said of his early form at the 2013 tournament, including a first-round win over American 21st seed Sam Querrey.
“Each match in 2011 when I played, I felt better and better.
“I felt pretty well out there (against Blake) and hopefully when I step out on court against Richard, I can feel good and play well again.”
Tomic revealed after the win he had failed in a bid to lobby tournament officials to overturn the ban preventing his father and coach from attending the event.
And while he remains angry over the ATP’s handling of the issue, he’s accepted the decision by Wimbledon officials to bar John Tomic, even as a spectator.
John Tomic, who had his ATP credentials suspended after being charged with an alleged assault on Tomic’s former training partner Thomas Drouet, is staying at a rented house near Wimbledon village and remains an influential part of his son’s campaign.
“When I get back, he tells me what I’ve done and what I need to do,” Bernard said.
“He’s still my coach. If I can pick up any advice from him, it’s huge because he knows my game the best.”
At 20, Tomic is the youngest man left in a men’s draw that has opened up significantly after a raft of injury withdrawals and the shock defeats of Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.
Tomic remains in the same quarter of the draw as Novak Djokovic, though, and said he couldn’t afford to pay attention to what else was happening in the draw.
“I think a lot of people were happy when Nadal lost,” Tomic said.
“I think Roger was very happy. I think he got ahead of himself, then things turned around.
“The players that don’t get too ahead of themselves, focus on their matches, have the best chance of winning.”
Tomic has lost to Gasquet in their two previous clashes, both on hard courts, but felt a change in surface could bring about a change in fortune.
“I feel on grass I can really get to him, not allow him to play his game,” Tomic said.
Australian 14th seed Samantha Stosur faces German Sabine Lisicki on Saturday in a bid to reach the fourth round for the first time.