China Daily (Hong Kong)

Tomic, Kyrgios ‘just a bit crazy’

- By AGENCE FRANCEPRES­SE in Sydney

Bernard Tomic says he and fellow fiery Aussie Nick Kyrgios will always be “just a bit crazy” and people should get used to it.

The controvers­ial pair have frequently fallen foul of tennis authoritie­s and have a love-hate relationsh­ip with the public.

Tomic said they were unlikely to change, but he has been working hard on his mental game ahead of the first Grand Slam of the year at Melbourne Park next week.

“Obviously we are just a bit crazy,” he told the Sydney Daily Telegraph on Wednesday.

“It’s tough to control that. Honestly speaking, sometimes we do lose it.

“But we have to remain mentally strong and focused on the main thing, which is playing tennis, doing well and trying to achieve our target. But for sure, we’re not the calmest people.”

Kyrgios, nursing a knee injury ahead of the Australian Open, is on the comeback trail from a suspension for “lack of best effort” during a match in Shanghai last year.

Known for his on-court tantrums, he is ranked No 14 in the world and considered a danger in the opening Grand Slam of the year — if his knee holds up and he can control his combustibl­e temperamen­t.

Tomic has also been plagued by controvers­y, making headlines last year when he deliberate­ly turned his racket the wrong way to face a match point against Fabio Fognini in Madrid.

He later told his postmatch media conference: “I don’t care about that match point. Would you care if you were 23 and worth over $10 million?”

Now ranked No 27, Tomic said he put on too much weight in the off-season, adding he was “fat” during a disappoint­ing first-round loss to David Ferrer at the Brisbane Internatio­nal last week.

But he claims to have since lost five kilograms.

“I was about 99 kilos, as opposed to 94 at the moment,” he said.

“One more kilo and I could have gone boxing. I mean, I am tall and big, but 99 kilos is too much.

“So yes, you can say last week I was fat. Then in one week I trained well and did the right things and I’m feeling pretty good right now.”

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from China