Breakthrough win for Bernard Tomic after lean tennis times

Australia's Bernard Tomic wins first Challenger Tour title in eight yearsPosted Mon 20 Jul 2026 at 3:05pmMon 20 Jul 2026 at 3:05pmBernard Tomic has won his first Challenger Tour title in eight years. (Getty Images: Icon Sportswire/George Walker, file pic)In short:Veteran Australian tennis player Bernard Tomic has broken his title drought with a win in a Challenger Tour final in Nebraska.The 33-year-old beat Estonia's Mark Lajal in three sets in the final of the Lincoln tournament.Tomic's last Challenger title came in Mallorca, Spain, in 2018, while his last main tour title came in Colombia in 2015.Bernard Tomic is back in the winner's circle with the Australian veteran cracking his first Challenger Tour title in eight years.Reaching the final of the Lincoln Challenger tournament in Nebraska, the 33-year-old showed some grit to save a championship point before downing Estonian Mark Lajal 4-6, 7-6 (4), 7-6 (3).With a world ranking at 206, down from a career-high of number 17 back in 2016, Tomic started as underdog against 23-year-old Lajal, who is ranked world number 159.The crafty Queenslander nailed his service games, on target with 72 per cent of first serves as well as nine aces to cause headaches for his rival.Tomic also had a three-set battle to book his place in the final, downing American wildcard Spencer Johnson 6-7 (5), 6-3, 6-2.It was his fourth Challenger Tour title, with the last coming in Mallorca in Spain in 2018.A quarter-finalist at Wimbledon back in 2011 and former junior champion, Tomic recently lost in the second round of qualifying, falling to fellow Australian Chris O'Connell 6-4, 6-4.On the main ATP Tour, his fourth and last singles title was at the 2015 Colombia Open in Bogota.AAP