Courts foreign to idle Bernie
BERNARD Tomic’s meagre Australian Open preparation has shrunk even further.
Still to withdraw from Melbourne Park qualifying after being snubbed for a main draw wildcard, Tomic’s grand slam build-up will consist of an abbreviated Fast4 outing at Kooyong’s Priceline Classic tomorrow.
By the time he faces Japanese youngster Yoshihito Nishioka in the fourth match at Kooyong tomorrow, Tomic will not have played a match since November.
Fast4’s scoring format is designed for speed – first to four games with a short tiebreak, if needed. Most sets last about 20 minutes, entire matches rarely last an hour.
By contrast, world No.1 Rafael Nadal will test his fitness in a full-scale clash with Richard Gasquet over three full sets at Kooyong.
Tomic’s outing against Nishioka will be his last before qualifying starts at Melbourne Park tomorrow.
While most players wouldn’t contemplate contesting a grand slam in similar circumstances, the intrigue around Tomic’s intentions continues to swirl.
Melbourne’s 1987 Wimbledon champion Pat Cash shook his head incredulously when Tomic’s name was mentioned.
Asked if he thought the Gold Coaster would attempt to qualify after such a long lay-off, Cash laughed and said: “I don’t know. I’m never surprised with Bernie. I think you expect the unexpected with Bernie.”
Speculation continues to build that Tomic is keen to chase a large appearance fee to appear in Network Ten’s reality show I’m a Celebrity ... Get Me Out Of Here! as his tennis career implodes.
Ranked No.140 in the world, Tomic is not automatically entered for major events such as the Australian Open.
The Gold Coaster was overlooked by Tennis Australia for a discretionary wildcard into the main draw after rejecting Lleyton Hewitt’s invitation to a training camp.
He then effectively cut communication with one of his staunchest allies by knocking back a place in TA’s wildcard playoff, using insulting descriptions of fellow Australian players in the process.
His attitude alarmed Hewitt, Jason Stoltenberg and Wally Masur, who effectively make wildcard and funding recommendations to TA.