Bernard Tomic has made a winning start in the US Open qualifying event and that marks him clinching a victory of any sort at Flushing Meadows in exactly 10 years.
On Tuesday, the Australian - currently ranked at No. 169 in the world - defeated 189th-ranked home player Patrick Kypson 6-4 6-4 after impressively firing 15 aces and having no double faults.
Early in the match, Tomic faced a break in the second game but successfully saved it. After avoiding going down by an early break, the former world No. 17 earned and realized his first break point in the seventh game to go 4-3 up, before serving his way to taking the opening set.
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Something similar happened at the start of the second set - Kypson had a break point in the second game but didn't realize it. However, the American also didn't allow Tomic to convert any of his two break points in the third game. After a couple of missed break points on both sides, the Australian collected a break in the ninth game and served out for the match in the following game.
Before beating Kypson, Lleyton Hewitt was the last player beaten by Tomic at the US Open
For the four-time ATP champion, this was his first US Open win since he beat Hewitt in the 2015 second round. Following his third-round showing in 2015, the Australian picked up back-to-back first-round exits in 2016 and 2017 before losing in the 2018 qualifying first round.
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Before coming to the US Open, Tomic pulled out of Sunday's Barranquilla Challenger final to focus on making the main draw in New York.
In the US Open qualifying second round, the Australian will take on world No. 168 Henry Rocha.
