About a decade ago Bernard Tomic was touted to be the next big superstar in the tennis circuit. At just 15, the prodigious Australian talent turned professional in 2008. His triumphs in the Junior Slams at the Australian Open and US Open made him one of the youngest players to make a mark on the international circuit.
After a quiet two years, Tomic’s incredible skills and determination were on display when he reached the quarter final of Wimbledon in 2011. He won his first ATP title in 2013 and he eventually reached a career-high singles ranking of world No.17 in 2016/17 season.
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File photo: Junior tennis player, Bernard Tomic of Australia poses at home with his trophies on April 19, 2006 on the Gold Coast, Australia. | Photo Credit: Getty Images
Tomic’s on court forcefulness translated into aggression off it as well. What was once a promising career slipped into a sharp downward spiral.
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Controversy’s child
After his third round loss to top seed Novak Djokovic at the 2015 Wimbledon Championships, Tomic slammed Tennis Australia for a lack of respect, support 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 said then in a sensational press conference.
“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?”
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Tennis Australia’s response needed no explanation as Tomic found himself dropped from the nation’s Davis Cup team for its quarter final tie against Kazakhstan.
Before Kyrgios, there was Tomic | This file photo taken on September 15, 2016 shows Australia Davis Cup tennis team players Bernard Tomic (L) and Nick Kyrgios attending the official draw for their tie against Slovakia in Sydney. Tomic says he and fellow fiery Australian Kyrgios will always be “just a bit crazy” and people should get used to it. The controversial pair have frequently fallen foul of tennis authorities and have a love-hate relationship with the public. | Photo Credit: AFP
He also famously clashed with his ‘idol’ Lleyton Hewitt when he was just 16, again at Wimbledon. Hewitt offered to have a practice hit with Tomic only for the latter’s team to snub him. The pair also locked horns when Tomic took a shot at him for not picking him for the Australian Open and Davis Cup.
From representing Australia in the 2012 Olympics and over multiple Davis Cup campaigns and competing in all four Grand Slams regularly to toiling hard on the Challenger and Futures circuit for the last 18-24 months, it’s safe to say that life has changed a fair bit for the 31-year-old.
The Challenger life
Currently playing in the ITF Futures $25,000 tournament in Chennai, Tomic’s efforts have seen him quietly move 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 player told Sportstar.
His superior skill and experience was there for all to see in his 6-3, 5-2 (his opponent had to retire eventually) win over Kazakh player Grigoriy Lomakin in the first round.
“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 said.
While his powerful serves, strong forehand returns and deft drop shots caught Lomakin on the backfoot, both players were under the pump courtesy Chennai’s humid conditions.
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“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 next to Bengaluru and Pune over the next 30 days and Tomic intends to make his presence felt throughout. It’s easy for a player who frequented the corridors of Grand Slam tennis to feel demotivated in a lower tier of competition. Not Tomic though.
“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 said.
He marks breaking into the top 100 as the goal for the year ahead, his way to battle his own thoughts 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 learned and unlearned ways to keep going in a sport that’s at its competitive best and is happy to have still have the chance to reinvent. “I am happy to be alive and to be playing tennis,” he signed off.
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