Australia's Bernard Tomic pockets almost $10k after ATP Challenger event win in Spain
It's a far cry from the bright lights of New York but Bernard Tomic is celebrating a small breakthrough elsewhere after winning the inaugural Rafa Nadal Open.
Tomic collected a cheque for 6,190 euros ($A9,975) after fighting back from a set down to beat German Matthias Bachinger 4-6 6-3 7-6 (7-3) in Sunday's final in Mallorca.
The former US Open junior champion entered the event at Nadal's academy after losing to fellow Australian Thanasi Kokkinakis in the first round of men's qualifying in New York.
Despite winning only six main-draw matches in six visits to Flushing Meadows, Tomic boasts $US400,558 ($A557,000) in earnings at the US major.
But forget the meagre money he made in Mallorca, it's the rankings points accrued from grinding through five wins that are priceless to the fallen star.
Tomic is projected to rise 26 places to No.126 in the world next Monday.
The 25-year-old needs to move inside the top 105 before the end of the year to secure direct entry to the 2019 Australian Open - after Tennis Australia overlooked the troubled one-time Davis Cup spearhead for a wildcard in last January.
