Bernard Tomic is likely to play at the US Open after lengthy absence from court.
Australia’s Bernard Tomic is speculated to return to tennis at the US Open having ended his absence from the tour after a controversy ridden period following his first round exit at Wimbledon. His absence from the tour has seen his ranking drop to 146.
Tomic, once considered a potential top-10 player has not played since Wimbledon where he lost to Mischa Zverev and claimed he was “bored” in the post match interaction. His comments weren’t taken kindly and was subsequently slammed by former players and fined $15,000.
Later while speaking to an Australian TV channel in an interview, he created further furore by saying he was in the sport only for the money and consider this a “job”. The Aussie added he had won plenty of money even without trying hard.
“He is playing the U.S. Open,” Tomic’s manager Matthew Fawcett told Melbourne’s Herald Sun. “Following that he is planning to play Chengdu, Tokyo, Shanghai, Antwerp or Stockholm or Moscow, Vienna and Paris.”
Tomic has withdrawn from his last four tournaments which has seriously affected his ranking to push it down which would need him to battle it out on lower-tier tours or seek wildcards from tournament organisers next year.
His top 30 ranking at the end of 2016 guarantees him slots at ATP 500 tournaments in Tokyo and Vienna but he will need to climb up the charts if he is to qualify for the ATP 1000 Masters series events in Shanghai and Paris in October.
Tennis Australia’s high performance chief Wally Masur said last month he was worried the long-time Davis Cup player was “burnt out.”
Living in Miami, Tomic’s party lifestyle has frequently done the rounds of Australian newspapers and former Aussie great Todd Woodbridge feels the reality check is not too far away. “Bernard is getting to that point where reality is really going to hit him,” Woodbridge told The Australian last week. “He will find out pretty quickly whether he enjoys playing, whether he wants to play and whether tennis can give him a lifestyle he enjoys. Otherwise, it won’t be long before he discovers that what he has been doing is a wonderful opportunity that has gone begging.”
The US Open begins on August 28 with many pundits suggesting Tomic does not have the physical fitness required to compete in a five setter.
(With inputs from Reuters)
