Tomic a Wimby washout
LONDON — After all the hard work and dedication it takes to get to Wimbledon, at least one player couldn’t be bothered with actually trying to win.
Bernard Tomic, the 24-yearold Australian who reached the quarterfinals at the All England Club in 2011, said Tuesday he “just couldn’t find any motivation” to compete this year.
“I felt a little bit bored out there,” Tomic said, “to be completely honest with you.”
Tomic, playing at Wimbledon for the eighth time, lost to Mischa Zverev 6-4, 6-3, 6-4 on Court 14.
“I feel holding a trophy or, you know, doing well, it doesn’t satisfy me anymore,” Tomic said. “It’s not there. I couldn’t care less if I make a fourth-round U.S. Open or I lose [in the] first round. To me, everything is the same. I’m going to play another 10 years, and I know after my career I won’t have to work again.”
Tomic has won three titles in his career, but has not advanced as far as the quarterfinals at a Grand Slam event since losing to eventual champion Novak Djokovic in 2011 — when at 18 he became the youngest man to reach the final eight at Wimble- don since Boris Becker defended his title in 1986.
Tomic, who reached a high of No. 17 in the world rankings in January 2016, entered Wimbledon ranked No. 59 after reaching the quarterfinals in Eastbourne, where he beat Zverev 6-3, 6-2 last week in the second round.
“Some weeks I play well and beat a bunch of players and do super well in tournaments ... but now it’s a roller coaster, and I just can’t seem to find, like, the commitment to work hard, to enjoy [playing] and to lift trophies,” Tomic said.
Last year’s runners-up, meanwhile, were up first on the main showcourts, and both came through in straight sets.
Angelique Kerber, playing in the spot on Centre Court nor- mally reserved for the defending women’s champion, beat Irina Falconi of the United States 6-4, 6-4. On No. 1 Court, Milos Raonic defeated Jan-Lennard Struff 7-6 (5), 6-4, 7-6 (4).
“A lot of memories came back when I walk on the Centre Court,” said Kerber, who took the opening spot on Centre Court on Day 2 in place of Serena Williams, the defending champion who is out for the rest of the season because she is pregnant. “Playing there again, it’s one of the best courts to play. It’s traditional, so it was really great to [be] back.”
Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer, who own a combined 10 titles at the All England Club, both reached the second round when their opponents retired from their matches in the second set.
Djokovic followed on Centre Court, leading 6-3, 2-0 when Martin Klizan stopped because of injury. The second-seeded Serb was leading 30-0 in the third game of the second.
“It’s really odd that Roger’s result and my result more or less was the same,” Djokovic said. “We had a little joke about it in the locker room, saying we should maybe play a practice set on the Centre Court, have the crowd stay. But they had another match.”