Troubled Tomic regrets chasing pro career

BERNARD TOMIC claims it is “amazing” what he has achieved in his career given that he has not “really tried”.

Australia’s troubled world No 73 was widely condemned at Wimbledon for appearing to ‘tank’ – deliberately losing – in the first round to Mischa Zverev and then saying that he had been “bored” and had faked an injury.

In an interview with Australia’s Seven Network, Tomic reiterated he struggled for motivation and played tennis for the money.

“Throughout my career, I’ve given 100pc,” he said. “I’ve given also 30pc. If you balance it out, all my career’s been around 50pc. I haven’t really tried and achieved all this. So it’s just amazing what I’ve done.”

Tomic, 24, reached the Wimbledon quarter-finals in 2011 and climbed to a career-high ranking of 17 in 2016, but his standing has plummeted and he has developed a reputation for giving up in matches, earning him the sobriquet ‘Tomic The Tank Engine’.

When asked if he could ever love tennis, Tomic replied: “No, I just go about it as a job.”

Asked what he would say to his 14-year-old self, he replied: “Don’t play tennis. Do something you love and enjoy because it’s a tough, tough life.”

On the allegations of tanking, Tomic said: “I don’t tank. I just get disappointed at myself and angry. I forget about the score and think about different things even though I am playing.” (© Daily Telegraph, London)