Australian Open Results: Bernard Tomic and the Most Impressive Day 5 Winners

Now that most of the pretenders have been eliminated from the 2012 Australian Open, the play has begun to get a little bit more competitive. That increased level of play was evident on Day Five with several players picking up victories over formidable foes.

Here are three players who picked up impressive wins on Friday.

Bernard Tomic

Bernard Tomic used his home country advantage to push himself past 13th-seed Alexandr Dolgopolov. The rising Australian star showed off an awesome array of shots to fend off one of the tour's most aggressive players.

Tomic has now beaten Fernando Verdasco, Sam Querrey and Dolgopolov. Few players on either side have been able to survive that difficult of a road in the early going. He's going to make some Grand Slam noise for many years to come, so this is just the start of something special.

His opponent in the next round is Roger Federer. Eventually Tomic will need to knock off elite players to win marquee tournaments, but he's played 14 sets to Federer's six so far, which makes another upset a long shot.

Kim Clijsters

Defending champion Kim Clijsters made quick work of Daniela Hantuchova, who is no slouch. Clijsters looks like a serious threat to keep her crown Down Under because there aren't many other players who can match her combination of power and consistency.

Perhaps more important than that is her mindset. There are so many issues on women's side with players unable to overcome mental hurdles. Clijsters has never lacked confidence, which gives her a major edge over most of her younger opponents.

She'll play Chinese star Li Na in the next round in a rematch of last year's final. It's tough to imagine Clijsters losing after today's rock-solid performance.

Feliciano Lopez

Whenever John Isner is involved, you should expect an extended match. Friday was no different with Feliciano Lopez knocking out the big-serving American in five sets. Lopez was able to use Isner's power against him, leading to 51 unforced errors.

Lopez has been an afterthought at majors for several years now, but he's looked rejuvenated in the early going and might be developing into a dark-horse threat Down Under. He proved that fitness certainly won't be an issue moving forward.

His next match will be against countryman Rafael Nadal. Concerns about Nadal's knee means the result is much less of a slam dunk than it was considered to be when the draw was released. Expect a close match in the fourth round.