Tennis by James Matthey  Bernard Tomic has taken a major step towards emerging from the tennis wilderness, qualifying for the Australian Open following another hard-fought win in Doha on Thursday morning (AEDT). The 28-year-old defeated countryman John-Patrick Smith 6-4 5-7 7-6 (10-7) to claim victory in his third and final qualifying match and secure safe passage through to the main draw at Melbourne Park in February. Showing grit not usually associated with him, Tomic held his nerve in a tense final set tiebreak to rattle off his third straight three-set win in Qatar. Tennis writer Tumaini Carayol summed up the mood when he tweeted: "Well done, really. I don't think many people expected that."