PARIS — It was a rough afternoon for poetic justice on Court 3 at the French Open on Tuesday.
On one side of the net was Brian Baker, a former junior star from the United States who is now 31 and keeps coming back to the tour for more despite 11 surgeries.
On the other side was Bernard Tomic, a flickering flame from Australia who has earned the nickname Bernard the Tank Engine. He was so ready to get off the court in Madrid last month that he flipped the racket in his hand on match point, putting the grip where the string bed was supposed to be and — no surprise — losing to Fabio Fognini.