US Open: Bernard Tomic and Thanasi Kokkinakis make day one exits

BERNARD Tomic faces the prospect of having to qualify for the Australian Open - while compatriot Thanasi Kokkinakis joined him as first round US Open losers.

Bernard Tomic is out of the US Open after a four-set defeat.

BERNARD Tomic is vowing to fight to save his career as he faces the humiliating prospect of having to qualify for the Australian Open following a disastrous first-round US Open loss in New York.

In his first match since being fined a Wimbledon-record $US15,000 for saying he was “a little bored” during his first-round defeat at the All England Club, Tomic succumbed 3-6 6-3 6-4 6-4 to 19th seed Gilles Simon.

Tomic is provisionally projected to slump to 142nd in the rankings, leaving the one-time grand slam quarter-finalist and world No.17 very much at a career crossroad.

Unless he improves his ranking to around 105 by the end of the season, the 24-year-old will miss direct entry to his home major.

SCROLL DOWN FOR MORE RESULTS FROM THE MEN’S DRAW

It was another tough day at the office for Bernard Tomic.

An insider told AAP they suspected Tennis Australia would be reluctant to extend the generosity of a wildcard to Tomic after he opted out of last year’s Rio Olympics and no longer represents Australia in the Davis Cup. Tomic told AAP he wouldn’t ask for a wildcard and said he remained confident of boosting his ranking sufficiently with some strong results during the Asian swing.

But after also revealing in a recent TV interview he’d spent much of his career not giving 100 per cent in matches, Tomic is unlikely to gain many wildcards to big events and will need to play low-level Challenger events to boost his ranking.

“It’s no sort of threat for me. I’ve been in this position before and I managed to turn it around quickly,” he said, recalling how he battled back after falling to 124th in the world following double hip surgery in 2014.

“It’s about being healthy the next six months to a year.”

Bernard Tomic started well but xouldn’t maintain the momentum.

After also complaining of being burnt out during his extraordinary post-match press conference at Wimbledon, Tomic said his motivation - if not full health and fitness - had returned following a six-week break from tennis. Tomic, though, maintained he still felt “trapped” in tennis and would likely need to play on into his 30s - unless “I can win a major or two, maybe I can retire early”.

“I mean, it’s tough. Everyone has their own work, their own job and it’s not like I can go and start real estate or something, restaurants. I’ve got no idea about that,” he said.

“Yes, I can afford to do those things, but I’ve got no idea. My job’s only to play tennis and it’s all I know.

“I’m not going to finish a doctor’s degree. I’m not the smartest person in the world.” Tennis great John Newcombe feared at Wimbledon that the troubled star was close to suffering breakdown but Tomic said he was back in a good head space. But he accepted he needed to work hard physically to return to the elite of the top 20.

“It’s not easy. It’s a tough level, but it’s my fault this year,” Tomic said. “I haven’t been giving a lot of focus and commitment to tennis in the start of the year.

“That’s took a toll in losing a lot of points. It’s my fault, but I need to turn it around.”

HEARTBREAK FOR KOKKINAKIS

Thanasi Kokkinakis of Australia returns a shot during his first round Men's Single match against Janko Tipsarevic of Serbia.

Thanasi Kokkinakis has suffered another shattering five-set loss at the US Open in New York.

In his first match at Flushing Meadows since retiring with severe cramps while locked at two sets all against French star Richard Gasquet in 2015, Kokkinakis was again injured before blowing a two-set lead against Janko Tipsarevic. The 21-year-old was treated for an elbow injury and complained of pains all the way down his left side in his gut-wrenching 5-7 (5-7) 3-6 6-1 7-6 (7-2) 6-3 loss to Serbia’s two-time quarter-finalist.

CILIC GIVES TENNYS LESSON

Marin Cilic, the 2014 U.S. Open champion, made it through his opening-round match against aptly named American Tennys Sandgren with a 6-4, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 victory.

The fifth-seeded Cilic was playing his first match since losing to Roger Federer in the Wimbledon final last month. No man ever has won the U.S. Open after not entering any tournaments between the All England Club and Flushing Meadows. Cilic didn’t even practice for two weeks because of a left leg injury. But he produced 55 winners Monday, 33 more than Sandgren.

The 105th-ranked Sandgren, whose name comes from his Swedish great-grandfather and has nothing to do with tennis, pumped his fist after he held serve to win the third set.

Cilic next faces Florian Mayer, who won 7-5, 0-6, 6-3, 6-4 over Rogerio Dutra Silva.

ISNER ACES HERBERT

John Isner, of the United States.

John Isner, the highest-ranked American man, delivered 22 aces and was broken only once in a 6-1, 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 victory over Pierre-Hugues Herbert of France in the U.S. Open’s first round.

The 10th-seeded Isner converted 5 of 9 break points while saving 6 of the 7 he faced.

He is one of 11 men from the host country on Monday’s schedule. Another, Steve Johnson, advanced with a 6-4, 7-6 (2), 7-6 (5) win against Nicolas Almagro of Spain.

Isner next faces Hyeon Chung of South Korea. Johnson plays Kyle Edmund of Britain in the second round.

ZVEREV FORCED TO FIVE BY THAI-SON KWIATOWSKI

Mischa Zverev, of Germany, returns a shot from Thai-Son Kwiatkowski.

No. 23-seeded Mischa Zverev came back from a set down to beat NCAA champion Thai-Son Kwiatkowski 7-6 (5), 4-6, 4-6, 7-5, 6-3 in a three-and-a-half-hour battle.

Zverev, who upset Andy Murray on his way to a quarterfinal run at this year’s Australian Open, got all he could handle from the 710th-ranked Virginia Cavalier, whose collegiate title in May earned him a wildcard into the U.S. Open main draw.

But Zverev prevailed on power, booming 11 aces and winning 72 per cent of his first-serve points. He next faces Frenchman Benoit Paire, a 6-3, 6-2, 7-6 (5) winner over Lukas Lacko.

SHAPOVALOV BEATS MEDVEDEV

Denis Shapovalov, of Canada, reacts after beating Daniil Medvedev.

Denis Shapovalov’s outstanding summer kept rolling with a 7-5, 6-1, 6-2 victory over Russia’s Daniil Medvedev in the first round of the U.S. Open. The 18-year-old Canadian, who became the youngest player to reach the semi-finals of an ATP Masters 1000 event at the Rogers Cup in Montreal earlier this month, had to qualify to get into the U.S. Open main draw. He dominated Medvedev on serve, winning 72 per cent of first-serve points and booming six aces. Next up for the 69th-ranked Shapovalov will be eighth-seeded Frenchman Jo- Wilfried Tsonga, a 6-3, 6-3, 6-4 winner over Marius Copil of Romania.