10 March 2017 | Tennis Queensland

Bernard Tomic’s search for confidence continues after the Australian was eliminated in straight sets by American wildcard Bjorn Fratangelo in the opening round of the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells.

At the same time, Ajla Tomljanovic fell 7-5 6-2 to Julia Goerges, who will go on to face Australian No.16 seed Sam Stosur in round two.

Tomljanovic only returned to tennis last week in Acapulco after a 13-month stint on the sidelines battling a shoulder injury which required surgery.

Later on Thursday, Jordan Thompson retired injured when trailing Mikhail Kukushkin in the third set of their first-round match.

Thompson turned his ankle when leading 3-0 in the first set; despite taking the opener 6-1, he was increasingly compromised as the match wore on.

Kukushkin hit through the Aussie to take the second 6-1 and broke serve twice in the third set before Thompson called it quits down 0-3.

Tomic’s 6-2 6-2 defeat to world No.112 Fratangelo means the Queenslander has bowed out of the first round for the fourth successive time since his third-round exit at the Australian Open.

World No.42 Tomic won fewer than a quarter of points on his second serve and was broken twice in both sets as wildcard Fratangelo sent down seven aces to Tomic’s one on Thursday in the Californian desert.

The American will next meet 13th seed Tomas Berdych in the second round.

Tomic also suffered opening round losses at the Memphis Open, Delray Beach Open and Mexican Open in Acapulco, where he retired because of the heat.

His next assignment will be teaming up with Spain’s world No.6 Rafael Nadal in the doubles at Indian Wells.

Meanwhile, Tomljanovic was in good spirits despite her loss to German Goerges.

The 23-year-old led 4-1 in the first set and had two breaks points for a 5-1 lead in the opening set before Goerges, the world No.50, stormed back to win six of the next seven games.

Tomljanovic went down an immediate break in the second set before Goerges wrapped up victory in one hour, 32 minutes.

“A loss has never felt so good (laughter). Like genuinely hasn’t felt so good. I’ve never been this upbeat after a loss,” Tomljanovic said. “Which is a good sign.

“Sort of new a perspective, appreciation for the sport. I’ve been out, literally in my head, for like a year and a half. I played Australia last year but my injury started way earlier. It feels like I’ve been away for decades.

“Just to be here and be competitive with these girls (is great). I’m not far off – it’s just little things now that at this level are important.

“It’s just encouraging. It would be so unfair on myself to be disappointed, at this point.”