They say there’s no better way to conquer a fear than to go right to the source. Bernard Tomic took that to heart on Tuesday. Despite a fear of heights, the Apia International Sydney’s top seed went all the way to the top of the second tallest observation tower in the Southern Hemisphere — the 1,014-foot Sydney Tower.     

“This is an amazing view and it’s certainly the first time I’ve done something like this,” said Tomic. “It’s a good feeling. I never got the chance to do this. It truly is high. I’m a bit scared, but also very happy to be up here. Maybe breaking the fear up here will be a good start for the week in Sydney. I don’t do well with heights, but I’m happy I did it.”

“It’s not every day you can come up to a place like this,” he added. “There are so many things to do in Sydney. It’s a very active, energetic city, which I truly like. It’s my No. 1 place in Australia.”

While the top seed awaits his first match, action got underway at the Sydney Olympic Park Tennis Center. No. 8 seed Alexandr Dolgopolov, a two-time quarter-finalist (2011, 2014) in Sydney, raced into the second round via a 6-1, 6-4 win over Thomaz Bellucci in 66 minutes.

The 36^th-ranked Ukrainian is now 2-0 against the Brazilian, having won their previous meeting at the ATP Masters 1000 Miami last March. He finished with seven aces, won 84 per cent of his first-serve points (27 of 32), and saved the only break point he faced. The 27-year-old will next face American qualifier Alexander Sarkissian.

Elsewhere, Teymuraz Gabashvili overcame six double faults to upset No. 7 seed and 2015 semi-finalist Leonardo Mayer 6-4, 6-3 in one hour and 32 minutes, inching ahead 2-1 in FedEx ATP Head2Head match-ups.

The all-French showdown between qualifier Nicolas Mahut and Adrian Mannarino saw Mahut advance with a 6-4, 7-5 decision. The 33-year-old converted five on nine break-point opportunities is the one-hour and 38-minute win.

No. 6 seed Jeremy Chardy dismissed qualifier Mikhail Kukushkin 6-2, 6-3 in just over an hour, out-acing his opponent 11-0.   

Seeds Advance In Doubles

The Polish tandem of Lukasz Kubot and Marcin Matkowski were 6-3, 7-5 winners over Marc Lopez and Andreas Seppi. No. 4 seeds Rohan Bopanna and Florin Mergea battled past Denis Istomin and Henri Kontinen 6-7(2), 6-3, 10-8.

John Isner traded racquet for bat on Tuesday in Auckland, visiting the Howick Pakuranga Baseball Club and meeting with members of the New Zealand Diamondblacks national squad.

Isner, the No. 3 seed at the ASB Classic, joined in the Diamondblacks’ training session for the 2016 World Baseball Classic, playing catch with a former member of the San Diego Padres and taking part in batting practice.

Currently No. 11 in the Emirates ATP Rankings, Isner leads a group of seven Americans ranked inside the Top 100.

Only three singles players – Jimmy Connors, Ivan Lendl and Roger Federer – have passed the 1,000 match wins milestone in the 44-year history of the ATP World Tour. Today, the sport’s first doubles player, Daniel Nestor, 43 years young, has achieved the feat.

The cut and thrust nature of professional doubles does not lend itself to patience, so when a team experiences a string of losses morale inevitably suffers and each player begins to look elsewhere. So it is incredible that over the past 23 seasons, the Canadian has won matches with 33 partners – from his very first victory with Sebastian Lareau at Auckland in January 1993 to today’s win with Marcelo Melo in the Apia Sydney International first round.

Nestor has ranked among the finest doubles players for the past 20 years, a product of his dedication, commitment, longevity and, most importantly, desire to adapt and evolve. In 15 of the past 20 seasons, he has been among the Top 10 in the Emirates ATP Doubles Rankings – including two year-end No. 1 finishes in 2004 and 2008.

“When I first started playing with Mark Knowles [in 1995] that was my best season and when I felt I was a top player,” Nestor told ATPWorldTour.com. “It was king of sporadic. I’d had big wins with Sebastian Lareau, some good tournaments but confidence wise it took longer in singles than in doubles. When I played against the best players I felt confident immediately.”

His greatest success have come with four partners: Knowles (464 wins, 40 titles, including three majors); Nenad Zimonjic (227 wins, 27 titles, including three majors); Max Mirnyi (90 wins, eight titles, including two majors) and his compatriot Lareau (60 wins, five titles, including the 2000 Sydney Olympics gold medal). He has lifted 88 doubles titles overall – third in the all-time list.

“It’s an incredible achievement,” Knowles told ATPWorldTour.com. “He has had a remarkably long career and has been able to achieve tremendous success throughout. I was fortunate to be on the same side of the net with Daniel for so many of those victories. He continues to adapt to a changing environment and finds motivation where others might not. One thousands wins is nothing short of spectacular. Congratulations!”

Laconic and laid back, with a sharp sense of humour, Nestor has never taken himself too seriously. But the stress to remain among the elite takes its toll. “I am competitive, I have always felt the losses more than enjoyed the wins,” said Nestor.

“You have these tough losses that you deem are far worse, if you deem to get better. I have tried to be the best I can be. I have regrets in singles, but in doubles, I have felt I have done everything that I could. It takes a lot out of you, the stress. I’m one of the guys who is a perfectionist, so little things bother me; when I haven’t played so well at big tournaments; leads to fatigue later in tournaments.”

Nestor has never possessed a big weapon: a devastating serve or blistering forehand, like so many in the modern era, yet his all-round game has been consistently spectacular. Only in humid conditions does his body react, as he experienced with Knowles en route to the 2002 Rogers Cup final. “I have had to work the most on my physical strength as my fitness and footwork was always an issue,” said Nestor. “So I’ve always worked hard off-court, rather than tennis stuff.”

“His longevity is pretty amazing,” Mike Bryan told ATPWorldTour.com. “He’s been one of the top players in the world for so long and he’s the only guy to beat us 25 plus times. We hate playing the guy he makes life tough. He’s one of the most talented players to ever play the game of doubles – his slinky lefty serve, his hands around the net, great return, great athlete and he’s still playing at age 43.” Bob Bryan told ATPWorldTour.com, “He will be in the Hall of Fame soon, it’s an incredible career. We congratulate him on all he’s done for the sport tennis and for doubles.”

“It’s amazing that he still plays at a really high level, and to get to 1,000 wins is something that very few guys will achieve in their careers,” Zimonjic told ATPWorldTour.com. “He’s won pretty much everything, a legend of our sport. He’s an example to the rest of us that if you stay professional, if you still enjoy it, if you love the game you can try to do the same. I’m really, really happy for him.”

In May last year, Nestor was sure that Mike Bryan (970 wins) or Bob Bryan (956) would achieve the match wins milestone before him. He never expected to play tour-level events for 28 years, and five years after indicating his desire to compete at the 2016 Rio Olympics, he keeps mixing it with the world’s best. Today, he assured himself of sporting immortality.

DANIEL NESTOR – BY THE NUMBERS (As of 11 January 2016)

MATCH WINS AND TITLES BY PARTNER

1,000 MATCH WINS CLUB

MOST DOUBLES MATCH WINS

MATCH WINS AND TITLES BY COUNTRY

DOUBLES MATCH WINS MILESTONES

* indicates went on to win the title

MATCH WINS BY YEAR

Statistical assistance courtesy of Graham Agars, Josh Rey and Greg Sharko and Josh Rey

Fifth seed Andreas Seppi, who is making his 11th consecutive trip to Sydney, kicked off his tournament with a 6-4, 4-6, 6-2 win over Denis Istomin on Monday.

The 2013 semi-finalist (l. to Tomic) improved his FedEx ATP Head2Head record against Istomin to 8-3. The Italian overcame a slow start to secure the first set, then saw the Uzbek fight back from a break down in the second set to force a decider.

Seppi, whose only hard-court loss to Istomin came in a five-set thriller at the 2013 US Open, then took over the match, racing to a 4-0 lead before closing out the win in one hour and 42 minutes.

Aussie wild card Jordan Thompson, making his Sydney main draw debut, earned his first ATP World Tour main draw victory on Monday when Martin Klizan retired while 6-2, 4-0 down. The 21 year old, No. 149 in the Emirates ATP Rankings, fired five aces and did not face a break. In the second round, Thompson will face top seed and countryman Bernard Tomic.

Jack Sock wasted no time in advancing to the second round of the ASB Classic in Auckland on Monday, disposing of Victor Estrella Burgos 6-0, 6-4 in 49 minutes. Sock improved his FedEx ATP Head2Head record against Estrella Burgos to 2-0, having eliminated the Dominican in straight sets at the 2015 US Open. Sock only lost two points on his first serve (20/22) and did not face a break point during the match.

In the second round, Sock will meet the winner between doubles partner and good friend Vasek Pospisil, and seventh seed Ivo Karlovic. The pair is set to square off Monday night.

Other players in action included American Donald Young, who eliminated New Zealand wild card Finn Tearney 6-2, 6-3 in 66 minutes. The 25 year-old Tearney, No. 365 in the Emirates ATP Rankings, was making his ATP World Tour main draw debut.

Sock and Young’s compatriot Steve Johnson did not have a successful outing on Monday, falling to Australian qualifier Matthew Barton 6-3, 3-6, 6-3. Barton, ranked No. 299, hit 13 aces and saved five of six break points to earn his first ATP World Tour main draw victory.