Tomic admits he never loved tennis
melbourne — Under-fire Australian tennis player Bernard Tomic has boasted of his “amazing” achievements in the sport and winning millions of dollars in prize money despite not really trying hard throughout his career.
In a candid interview with Australian broadcaster The Seven Network, the 24-year-old also said he felt ‘trapped’ in the sport and had no regrets about his Wimbledon admission of being ‘bored’ during his first round defeat, a comment which cost him a steep fine and his sponsorship with racket manufacturer Head.
“Throughout my career I’ve given 100 percent. I’ve given also 30 percent,” Tomic said in the television interview from Miami. “But if you balance it out, I think all my career’s been around 50 percent and I haven’t really tried and I’ve achieved all this,” Tomic said.
“So it’s just amazing what I’ve done. I never loved tennis. I am just going to go about it as a job.
“Wouldn’t anyone want to take a job in a professional sport in one of the biggest sports in the world and only give 50, 60 percent and earn millions of dollars? I think everybody would take that.”
Once touted as a potential grand slam champion and a top 10 player, Tomic’s ranking has slid to 73 from a career-high of 17 at the start of 2016.
After a listless 6-3 6-4 6-3 defeat by Germany’s Mischa Zverev at Wimbledon, Tomic said he felt a “little bored” on the court and had suffered from a lack of motivation for two years.
The comments drew condemnation from former players and pundits across the globe.
“I don’t regret what I said,” he said. —