Lucky Loser Tomic Stuns Khachanov, Reaches Los Cabos QF

Lucky Loser, Unlucky Seed

Bernard Tomic had no right to be in the Los Cabos main draw. He entered the week as a lucky loser — a qualifier who fell at the final hurdle but stepped in when another player withdrew. By Thursday, he had beaten the tournament's fourth seed and booked a quarterfinal berth at the Mifel Open.

Tomic defeated Karen Khachanov 6-2, 6-4 in just over an hour, producing his second successive dominant display of the week. In the first round, the 33-year-old had demolished Alex Hernández 6-1, 6-0 in just 46 minutes — the fastest ATP main-draw win of the 2026 season, according to reports. Against the fourth seed, the scoreline was slightly closer but the performance was no less controlled.

A Relic Reloaded

Tomic's name has not featured in ATP quarterfinal draw sheets in several years. The Australian-Croatian, once ranked as high as 17 in the world and a junior Wimbledon champion, became more widely known for his off-court controversies and a candid admission in 2017 that he felt bored playing professional tennis. He eventually drifted away from the top of the tour almost entirely.

In Los Cabos, none of that baggage has been visible on the scoreboard. Against Khachanov — ranked inside the top 30 and the no-doubt favourite on paper — Tomic was disciplined and relentless. He won 81% of points on his first serve, never faced a break point in the second set, and allowed his opponent just eight winners across the whole match. Khachanov's ability to dictate rallies, usually one of his strongest weapons, was nullified by Tomic's flat, low-bouncing groundstrokes.

The win carries genuine significance. Khachanov entered Washington having reached multiple Grand Slam quarterfinals in recent seasons and was the highest seed Tomic has beaten in several years. This was not a charity win against a depleted field; it was a professional dismantling of a quality opponent.

The Draw Opens Up

Tomic is one of several stories complicating the Los Cabos picture. Denis Shapovalov won his second-round match against wildcard Rodrigo Pacheco Mendez 6-3, 6-2, and is projected to be Tomic's quarterfinal opponent based on the draw structure. A former top-10 player himself, Shapovalov brings a very different challenge — explosive ball-striking and a serve that can end points without warning.

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Elsewhere in the draw, young Spaniard Alejandro Gea has also reached the quarterfinals after defeating Zheng Moxuan, while Francisco Cerundolo advanced from his section to maintain Argentina's presence in the last eight. The unseeded qualifier Jenson Brooksby is also through after his second-round win.

What Comes Next

The question for Tomic is simple: was this week a one-off hot streak, or a sign that something more sustained has been rebuilt? At 33, with a career that veered sharply away from its early promise, the answer is unlikely to be resolved in one tournament. But two wins in Los Cabos — including a 46-minute demolition and a straight-sets defeat of a top-30 seed — give Tomic something he has rarely had in recent years: forward momentum.

Quarterfinals at the Mifel Open are scheduled for Friday, July 31.