Tomic needs support at a tough time like this
Margaret Court and now, once again, Bernard Tomic: Australian tennis is back in the headlines for all the wrong reasons.
After his farcical Wimbledon campaign, the 24-yearold has provoked yet another sharp backlash following a series of controversial comments made to Australia’s Channel Seven.
« Throughout my career I›ve given 100 per cent,” he said. “I›ve given also 30 per cent. But if you balance it out, I think all my career›s been around 50 per cent.”
«I haven›t really tried, and still achieved all this. So it›s just amazing what I›ve done.»
When asked if he’s only playing for the money, the Australian responded in typically smug fashion: “Basically, yeah.”
If Tomic’s words are to be believed, tennis is simply a means to a hedonistic end. A millionaire by the age of 18, the Australian has embraced the rock ‘n’ roll lifestyle that his prize money has afforded him. Night-clubbing on Miami’s Gold Coast, houses in Monaco, canary yellow supercars: Tomic flys in the face of the pristine professionalism made famous by his ‘Big Four’ rivals.
Understandably, Tomic has drawn fierce criticism for his antics and comments – most notably from former tennis stars who have expressed contempt for the youngster. “You’re an embarrassment to yourself, and not only to the sport but to Australian tennis,” Rennae Stubbs, a six- time Grand Slam doubles champion, told the BBC in the wake of Tomic’s first-round Wimbledon exit in which he complained of ‘boredom’. Martina Navratilova echoed a similar sentiment: “It’s disrespectful to the sport and disrespectful to the history of the sport. THE INDEPENDENT