A national disgrace

Bernard Tomic is a national disgrace, there’s no other way to put it. The immensely talented 23-year-old’s behaviour on court has included some of the worst sportsmanship I’ve ever had the displeasure of witnessing. For a player representing a country with a proud tradition of producing top athletes, and where exemplary sportsmanship is expected, he will have his work cut out to ever regain the public’s respect, that is of course if he ever cares to.

Would you care if you were 23 and worth over $10 million? - Bernard Tomic

Earlier this month Tomic had tennis fans, commentators and fellow players seething when he conceded a match to Fabio Fognini at the Madrid Open by holding his racket backwards on match point. When questioned about it by a journalist after the match he replied, "Would you care if you were 23 and worth over $10 million?” This prompted his friend and hitting partner, Novak Djokovic to comment, "It’s not right and I hope he realises that.” Meanwhile, Australian Olympic team chief, Kitty Chiller, warned that he and Nick Kyrgios may not be selected for Rio if their behaviour does not improve. One might have expected the overwhelmingly negative response to his antics to serve as a wake. Instead, days later he retired from his first round match in Rome after just eight minutes, sighting illness and the heat. Just as well he wasn’t so ill that he couldn’t step on to the court thereby collecting $20,562 for his trouble!

This is just the latest in a string of incidents for Tomic that have included tanking against Andy Roddick at the 2012 US Open and recording the fastest loss in ATP history against Jarko Nieminen in 2014, acts that have earned him the nickname "Tomic The Tank Engine.” He even managed to get into a public spat with Australian sporting icon, Pat Rafter, renowned as one of the nicest guys to have played the game.

It all points to a young man who is drifting in the wind, wasting talent that once held the promise of a future world number one. And his latest move, withdrawing himself from consideration for the Australian Olympic Team, just underscores the degree to which he’s oblivious of his nation’s expectations and to the harm he’s inflicting upon himself. While this super brat no doubt thinks he’s teaching Chiller and others a lesson, his nation is breathing a sigh of relief. While us Aussies love to win, nothing is more important to us than how you play the game. Right now, even if there was a guaranteed gold medal waiting for Bernard Tomic to simply collect from Rio, I fear he’d find a way to disgrace himself and the nation yet again.

Tomic’s troubles stir up memories of Mark Philippoussis, who also squandered his talent, and Jelena Dokic, who quit playing for Australia. All three had overbearing fathers/coaches that were brought up in a culture completely foreign to their adopted nation, and their child prodigies became "chips off the old block." Perhaps it’s time Tennis Australia rethinks its criteria for choosing which up-and-coming young players to support and the way in which it supports them, because no Australian wants to see their tax dollars going to help produce another tank engine.