Great urges Tomic to give us a break
JOHN Newcombe has urged wallowing Bernard Tomic to take a break from tennis to decide if he wants to revive a stalled career.
The suggestion of the tennis great comes just weeks after Gold Coast tennis locals told the Bulletin that Tomic needed a break after drawing the curtain on a wretched season, winning just 10 matches from 29 outings as his ranking plummeted from No.29 to 142.
Scarred by 13 first-round losses, including three opening-stage blowouts at the grand slams, Tomic needs to either qualify or receive a wildcard to contest next month’s Australian Open.
Given the questionable fitness and desire he displayed last season, Tennis Australia would be reluctant to hand the Queenslander a discretionary wildcard – even with his impressive Davis Cup record for Australia.
Former No.1 Newcombe says Tomic is at a crossroads. “I think Bernie needs to step away from the game for three or four months and really think about: is this (tennis) what he wants to do?” Newcombe said.
“And if this is what he wants, then he needs to find the best trainer he can find and get himself properly fit.
“It’s not too late but unless he gets himself fit, it’s never going to happen. That simple.”
Tomic’s mental and physical struggles were graphically exposed at Wimbledon, where first-round failure led to a $20,000 fine for unsportsmanlike conduct after confessing he was bored.
The Gold Coaster was also dumped by racquet sponsor Head.
Since Wimbledon, Tomic has won just three matches.
He is now back home training with his father John.
While anointing Ash Barty as a potential future Wimbledon champion after her Newcombe Medal success on Monday, Newcombe is optimistic Nick Kyrgios can also become a major champion.
“It was an interesting year for Nick because he did really well in Davis Cup,” Newcombe said. “He did pretty well in the three-set tournaments and didn’t do well at all in the grand slams.”
HE NEEDS TO FIND THE BEST TRAINER HE CAN FIND AND GET HIMSELF PROPERLY FIT TENNIS ICON JOHN NEWCOMBE