Teenager Bernard Tomic will be carrying the hopes of a nation on his young shoulders. It has been a long time since the heyday of Australian tennis with champions like Rod Laver, Ken Rosewall, John Newcombe, Lew Hoad, Yvonne Goolagong and Margaret Court. Aussies ruled the courts during a twenty year span from the early fifties through the early seventies. The last of this group was Mark Edmondson who stills remains one of the lowest ranked players to ever win a major. Sadly, Eddo was the last local to win the Australian Open whose 2012 version begins tomorrow in Melbourne. Sure, we have had Pat Cash and Lleyton Hewitt on the men's side since then, however, although great champions, they were the exception, not the rule.Tomic yesterday won his first major tournament in the Kooyong Classic against American Mardy Fish who was a revelation in 2011. This was no mean feat as Fish is currently sitting at No. 8 in the ATP Tour rankings. Tomic has shown great promise for a number of years and looks like making good on this showing. For Australia, it just might herald a new era in tennis if Tomic can do well in the Open. With gutsy Samanatha Stosur breaking through to win the U.S.pen last year, Australians may finally have something to cheer about with an Australian winner of their homegrown championship. With Ashleigh Barty, the number 2 ranked female junior in the world, maybe Australia is poised for a return to some of their glory years! Aussie, Aussie, Aussie, Oi, Oi, Oi.
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