London, UK, 11 June 2014 | atpworldtour.com

It has not been the start to the season that Bernard Tomic hoped for. While his contemporaries have pushed on towards the Top 10, the Australian saw his campaign curtailed in January as he underwent bilateral hip surgery after retiring in the Australian Open first round against Rafael Nadal.

But, after a scratchy comeback on the European clay, the 21-year-old Tomic is now looking to make a fresh start to his 2014 season on the grass, where he has enjoyed some of the best results of his young career. He opened his bid Monday with a hard-fought three-set win over Tim Smyczek at the Aegon Championships in London.

“It’s been very difficult. I played well at the start of the year like I always do, then I was meant to play Nadal at the Australian Open and I couldn’t finish the match unfortunately,” said Tomic, who reached the Sydney final in the second week of the season (l. to del Potro).

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