Bernard Tomic won't be capturing his first Challenger title since 2018 after pulling out of the Barranquilla final, but that may have been a strictly business decision so the former world No. 17 could focus on the US Open qualifying.
Tomic, who rose to No. 184 in the world after finishing as runner-up at the Chicago Challenger earlier this month, put up another deep run in Barranquilla, Colombia. Initially, the Barranquilla event was slated to finish on Saturday. But due to rain, the final had to be moved to Sunday. And according to The First Serve - an Australian tennis site and podcast - the four-time ATP champion's decision to give a walkover to Arthur Fery was likely a US Open-related move.
Before pulling out of Barranquilla, Tomic overcame Johan Alexander Rodriguez Rodriguez 4-6 6-4 6-3 in just more than two and a half hours of play in their semifinal meeting. As a reward, the 32-year-old will continue his ranking rise and be ranked at least at No. 169 when the list gets updated.
Tomic hasn't played in a Grand Slam main draw in nearly five years
In 2021, the former world No. 17 won three qualifying matches to reach the Australian Open main draw. That year, the Australian also beat Yuichi Sugita before losing to Denis Shapovalov in the second round. Since then, he has only appeared in a couple of qualifying Grand Slam events - without making the main draw.
When it specifically comes to the US Open, Tomic hasn't played at Flushing Meadows since 2018, when he was beaten by Thanasi Kokkinakis in the qualifying first round. In his last US Open main draw appearance, the 32-year-old lost to Gilles Muller in the first round in 2017.
