Bernard Tomic will attempt to revive his tennis career by qualifying for the 2021 Australian Open.<\/p>\n
The 28-year-old fallen Aussie star is trying to qualify for his third Australian Open in four years.<\/p>\n
Ranked at 226 in the world, Tomic hopes to shake off a back injury which saw him withdraw from a low-key UTR Pro Tennis Series event that was held in Brisbane over the last fortnight.<\/p>\n
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Tomic peaked as world number 17 in 2016, and has a spate of on and off the field dramas since.<\/p>\n
Recently he made an 'Only Fans' debut \u2014 a subscription based social media platform, mainly used for X-rated content\u2014 with his ex-reality TV girlfriend, Vanessa Sierra.<\/p>\n
Last year he fell in the first round of Australian open qualifying, and in 2018 the final round.<\/p>\n
He is a part of a 20-strong contingent of Aussies in a bid to qualify for the delayed Australian Open.<\/p>\n
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Among the other Australians is veteran Matt Ebden, who scored a last ditch qualifying spot.<\/p>\n
The 33-year-old West Australian's chance came when countryman Max Purcell moved into the qualifying draw without requiring a wildcard.<\/p>\n
Ebden hopes to reach his ninth Australian Open main draw, just two years after being a top-40 player.<\/p>\n
John-Patrick Smith, Andrew Harris and wildcards Jason Kubler, Akira Santillan, Blake Mott, Tristan Schoolkate, Rinky Hijikata and Dane Sweeny round out Australia's male representation.<\/p>\n
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While there is one wild card still available in the women's draw, nine women have been named as Kim Birrell, Ellen Perez and wildcards Seone Mendez, Abbie Myers, Storm Sanders, Ivana Popovic, Olivia Gadecki, Charlotte Kempenaers-Pocz and Alexandra Bozovic.<\/p>\n
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The qualifiers will take place outside of Australia due to the AO covid rules, with the men's in Doha, Qatar and the women's in Dubai.<\/p>\n
Following the qualifiers, chartered flights will fly 16 players and a further 6 alternate to Melbourne before going into a mandatory 14 day quarantine.<\/p>\n
The Australian Open qualifiers are from January 10-13.<\/p>\n
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