About a decade in the past Bernard Tomic was touted to be the following huge famous person within the tennis circuit. At simply 15, the prodigious Australian expertise turned skilled in 2008. His triumphs within the Junior Slams on the Australian Open and US Open made him one of many youngest gamers to make a mark on the worldwide circuit.
After a quiet two years, Tomic’s unimaginable abilities and willpower had been on show when he reached the quarter closing of Wimbledon in 2011. He received his first ATP title in 2013 and he finally reached a career-high singles rating of world No.17 in 2016/17 season.
ALSO READ: Nadal set to return in February at Qatar Open
File picture: Junior tennis participant, Bernard Tomic of Australia poses at dwelling along with his trophies on April 19, 2006 on the Gold Coast, Australia.
| Photo Credit:
Getty Images
File picture: Junior tennis participant, Bernard Tomic of Australia poses at dwelling along with his trophies on April 19, 2006 on the Gold Coast, Australia.
| Photo Credit:
Getty Images
Tomic’s on court docket forcefulness translated into aggression off it as effectively. What was as soon as a promising profession slipped into a pointy downward spiral.
ALSO READ: ATP 250’s absence from Indian calendar will probably be felt in additional methods than one
Controversy’s youngster
After his third spherical loss to prime seed Novak Djokovic on the 2015 Wimbledon Championships, Tomic slammed Tennis Australia for an absence of respect, assist and funding.
“There has been no respect I think towards me. It’s been difficult, you know, being a good player the last three, four years coming up, and, you know, people expecting a lot from you.” Tomic had mentioned then in a sensational press convention.
“After I had that surgery [double hip surgery after the 2014 Australian Open]. You know, I didn’t get one phone call from Tennis Australia, can we help you, Bernard? Can we do this? Do you need something?”Bernard Tomic about Tennis Australia in 2015
“All of a sudden, things started changing after I had that surgery [double hip surgery after the 2014 Australian Open]. You know, I didn’t get one phone call from Tennis Australia, can we help you, Bernard? Can we do this? Do you need something?”
ALSO READ: Djokovic: Young rivals have awoken ‘beast’ in me
Tennis Australia’s response wanted no clarification as Tomic discovered himself dropped from the nation’s Davis Cup crew for its quarter closing tie in opposition to Kazakhstan.
Before Kyrgios, there was Tomic | This file picture taken on September 15, 2016 exhibits Australia Davis Cup tennis crew gamers Bernard Tomic (L) and Nick Kyrgios attending the official draw for his or her tie in opposition to Slovakia in Sydney. Tomic says he and fellow fiery Australian Kyrgios will at all times be “just a bit crazy” and other people ought to get used to it. The controversial pair have incessantly fallen foul of tennis authorities and have a love-hate relationship with the general public.
| Photo Credit:
AFP
Before Kyrgios, there was Tomic | This file picture taken on September 15, 2016 exhibits Australia Davis Cup tennis crew gamers Bernard Tomic (L) and Nick Kyrgios attending the official draw for his or her tie in opposition to Slovakia in Sydney. Tomic says he and fellow fiery Australian Kyrgios will at all times be “just a bit crazy” and other people ought to get used to it. The controversial pair have incessantly fallen foul of tennis authorities and have a love-hate relationship with the general public.
| Photo Credit:
AFP
He additionally famously clashed along with his ‘idol’ Lleyton Hewitt when he was simply 16, once more at Wimbledon. Hewitt supplied to have a apply hit with Tomic just for the latter’s crew to snub him. The pair additionally locked horns when Tomic took a shot at him for not selecting him for the Australian Open and Davis Cup.
From representing Australia within the 2012 Olympics and over a number of Davis Cup campaigns and competing in all 4 Grand Slams commonly to toiling arduous on the Challenger and Futures circuit for the final 18-24 months, it’s secure to say that life has modified a good bit for the 31-year-old.
The Challenger life
Currently enjoying within the ITF Futures $25,000 event in Chennai, Tomic’s efforts have seen him quietly transfer up the rankings from a lowly 825 in 2022 to 290.
“I missed a lot of tennis in the last four years. COVID-19 hit after that. I then took time away as I was mentally not there in the sport,” the German-born Australian participant instructed Sportstar.
His superior talent and expertise was there for all to see in his 6-3, 5-2 win over Kazakh participant Grigoriy Lomakin within the first spherical.
“I like to be quicker, but that’s tough as I am getting older, but that is okay. I cannot complain. I am focussing on being injury-free,” he mentioned.
While his highly effective serves, sturdy forehand returns and deft drop pictures caught Lomakin on the backfoot, each gamers had been beneath the pump courtesy Chennai’s humid circumstances.
ALSO READ: Alexander Zverev: Fans mustn’t should sort out protestors at Australian Open
“We were both struggling a little bit. It is my first match in India. The air quality is different here, I am getting used to the conditions here. I am here to play the Challengers in India,” Tomic added.
Road to redemption
The Indian bracket of the Challengers goes subsequent to Bengaluru and Pune over the following 30 days and Tomic intends to make his presence felt all through. It’s simple for a participant who frequented the corridors of Grand Slam tennis to really feel demotivated in a decrease tier of competitors. Not Tomic although.
“Everyone has a different journey. You can’t control destiny. You learn to respect life and the little things. If I did the right things at 20-24, I was not very professional. I worked extremely hard, but if I had done a few things right, who knows,” he mentioned.
He marks breaking into the highest 100 because the aim for the yr forward, his technique to battle his personal
ideas of not fulfilling his potential.
“Of course, but I think everyone has that. Maybe I do, a little bit more. I was in the good block for 6-7 years. If I was professional, if I did everything right, I could have won a Grand Slam but didn’t. But there are 20 other people who can say the same thing about them. This is the toughest decade in the history of tennis. Maybe, I could have top 10, top 8. But it’s okay. There are other things to look at. I am okay now. I will try to get to the top 100, top 50 one more time,” he added.
Over the years, Tomic has discovered and unlearned methods to maintain getting in a sport that’s at its aggressive greatest and is blissful to have nonetheless have the prospect to reinvent. “I am happy to be alive and to be playing tennis,” he signed off.
Source: sportstar.thehindu.com