Bernard Tomic's resurgence continued on Wednesday as he defeated British rising star Jay Clarke 6-3, 6-1 in the second round of French Open qualifying. The Australian is now one match away from securing a place in the main draw after a dominant performance on the clay of Roland Garros.
Tomic, who once reached the Wimbledon quarter-finals, has battled back from a slump that saw him fail to qualify for the Australian Open in January and drop outside the world's top 200. After a brief stint on reality television, he has found form on his least favoured surface, winning six of his last seven matches on red clay.
The 26-year-old will face Portugal's Gonçalo Oliveira on Friday for a spot in the main draw. Despite concerns over fatigue after a heavy schedule, Tomic broke Clarke's serve early in the first set and cruised through the second, sealing victory in just over an hour. His father and coach John was in attendance on court six.
Other Australian men's players were less successful. Thanasi Kokkinakis lost 6-7 (4-7), 6-1, 6-2 to Estonia's Jürgen Zopp, while Akira Santillan fell to French wildcard Alexandre Müller 6-1, 3-6, 6-0.
In the women's qualifying, Lizette Cabrera kept Australian hopes alive with a 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 win over Japan's Junri Namigata. However, Destanee Aiava, Arina Rodionova, Olivia Rogowska and Priscilla Hon all lost their first-round matches.
