Sara Tomic has served up inspiration for her struggling brother Bernard by claiming one of the biggest wins of her career in Sydney International qualifying.
While Bernard weighs up his desire to play in the Australian Open after missing out on a wildcard, 19-year-old Sara fought back from a sluggish start to beat world No.86 Ons Jabeur 2-6 7-5 6-4 on Friday.
It continues a steady start to the year for the world No.463, who beat another player ranked more than 300 places above her in American Kayla Day in Brisbane International qualifying last week.
Tomic failed to reach the main draw of the tournament after subsequently losing to Estonian veteran Kaia Kanepi, but she has a chance to go one better in Sydney when she faces Spain's Lara Arruabarrena on Saturday.
Tomic said her victory over Tunisia's Jabeur, who reached the third round of the French Open last year, was reflective of a strong pre-season.
"She's a great player. I'm so happy I got the win. It wasn't easy. I was fighting every point," she told AAP.
"I was making a lot of errors in the first set. I got here yesterday, so I think that affected my feeling of the court.
"But I kept telling myself: 'Jst try. Keep going, keep going'. The momentum started to come and I started to get more confident on shots. I started to believe more.
"Hard work definitely pays off. It's definitely not talent, it's definitely hard work."
Her outlook compares favourably to Bernard's, whose last season was plagued by poor form and a lack of motivation as he plunged to 140 in the rankings.
Bernard has entered next week's Australian Open qualifying tournament after officials ended months of speculation on Thursday by denying him a wildcard.
Sara and her temperamental father John, who was in the stands on Friday, would not answer questions about Bernard's situation.
She said her focus was making 2018 a breakout year.
"Hopefully it's a good year for everyone," Tomic said.
"Win or lose, as long as I try my best. That's more important than anything and I develop my game for the future.
"There's still a lot to learn. If I break through, that's great. If it doesn't happen, I'll just continue to work and results will come."
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