Next month D-day for Tomic’s hopes
BERNARD Tomic will not contest for an Australian Open berth until January, with the 25-year-old electing not to take up an invitation to next week’s wildcard playoff.
The Gold Coaster was this week urged by Tennis Australia officials to compete next week, where he would have been the tournament’s top seed, but will instead skip the event.
Tomic, ranked 142 and without automatic entry to his home grand slam, could still feature with further qualifying to be held in the weeks leading up to the Open.
Three wildcards remain in addition to those up for grabs
in the two qualifying events.
Thanasi Kokkinakis was last month awarded a discretionary wildcard for the Australian Open, with Davis Cup captain Lleyton Hewitt saying at the time that Tomic had to find a way to return to his top level tennis.
Tennis great John Newcombe
last week urged Tomic to take a break from tennis “for three or four months” to reignite his career, while Hewitt said whether it would be worthwhile is dependent on a number of factors.
“It depends what mental state he’s in,” Hewitt said.
“If he’s committed to the sport and he’s out there training and doing all the right things and the one percenters, he’s fine to get out there and keep pushing through.
“We all know how talented he is – he’s just got to get that confidence back on the match court. But if he’s not fully committed, it’s not an easy sport to just go in week-in, week-out.”
Tomic – who has also entered qualifying for the Brisbane International – has progressed to the fourth round three times at Melbourne Park and suffered a third-round loss this year, when he was seeded 27th.
The wildcard playoff will see 16 players compete in both men’s and women’s events for Australian Open entry, with last year’s winner Omar Jasika seeking a consecutive berth.
Sam Groth – who has announced that the upcoming Open will be his last – will also contend.
“The men’s field is a mix of some really impressive young guys who will be keen to make their mark, alongside established and experienced players,” Hewitt said.
“The playoff format will replicate the Australian Open, with best of five-set matches giving the players a real feel for grand slam conditions. We’ve seen some tough battles over the years and I’m looking forward to watching all the boys in action.”