7 days ago
Why there's still hope for Bernard Tomic despite Chicago retirement
At first glance, it had all the hallmarks of a classic Tomic capitulation.
Playing world No.424 Stefan Dostanic, he won the first set and went up a break in the second.
Then he tripped over returning a serve on match point, lost the second set, went down a break early in the third and retired shortly afterwards.
The social media blow-up was immediate.
Dig a little deeper though, and it might not be so clear cut.
Just days earlier, Tomic reached his first Challenger final of the year in Lexington, Kentucky, and had shown some real grit in fighting back from 1-4 down in the third set to win his semi-final against Eliot Spizzirri.
The result in Lexington, when he played five matches in quick succession, including a three-set loss in the final, saw Tomic move up to 184th in the ATP rankings.
It's the highest he's been since 2020.
Despite the retirement in Chicago – which can be put down to fatigue and wanting to freshen up before focusing on US Open qualifying – there could still be hope for the former teen prodigy, who seems to have found direction again after years in the wilderness. FREEFALL
Tomic was already one of the most-hated sportspeople in Australia when he reached his career-high ranking of 17th in the world in 2016.
But even before that, and despite winning Junior Australian and US Opens, there were questions about how far Tomic could go at the top level in the sport considering the advice he was getting.
'He would have developed into a better tennis player if he was able to secure the right people around him that were able to put in a program that allowed him to develop,' veteran coach Roger Rasheed tells Code Sports.
'Could he be a person I thought was going to elevate himself into the top 10 and win majors? I never saw that in his game, to be honest.
'It needed so much. It was in its infancy, but it never really got out of that, to be perfectly honest.'
Off the court, meanwhile, the problems were more obvious.
There had been driving offences, a late night arrest in Miami and running battles with Craig Tiley, Tennis Australia, Lleyton Hewitt, Pat Rafter and the media.
Then there were the all too frequent accusations of tanking and giving up.
For every run deep into a tournament, there would be a retirement when things got too tough.
So he received little sympathy when his ranking nosedived. It was like a slow motion car crash.
His reputation as a quitter was only solidified when he walked off I'm a Celebrity…Get me Out of Here after just three days in 2018.
When Covid hit, Tomic spent several years partying and drinking, and became a laughing stock when he 'starred' in an OnlyFans video with his then-girlfriend, reality TV star, Vanessa Sierra.
On court, it was even worse.
In August 2022, he had dropped to 825 in the world, and the following January he was snubbed by Tennis Australia, who refused to award him a qualifying wildcard for the 2023 Australian Open. RENEWED PURPOSE
Just as he was drifting towards irrelevance, Tomic had a sudden realisation.
'Without tennis, I don't know what I would do,' he told The Changeover Podcast.
So, he set himself a new target.
'My goal is to be top 100, then I'll retire,' he said.
'You've gotta find your purpose. Something to keep you going. Without tennis what am I gonna do?
'It's the only thing I'm good at. It keeps me going.'
After years spent listening to his erratic father, John, and dealing with the pressure of an expectant public in search of the next Hewitt, it might be the first time that Tomic has taken control of his own career.
His goal is more modest than the multiple Slams his father – who declined to be interviewed for this story – wanted him to win, but at 32, it remains a huge challenge.
Tomic always preferred guile, deception and precision to raw aggression, but there's not much room for that type of player in a tennis world dominated by out-and-out power hitters and baseline-hugging defensive workhorses.
'I'll give him credit that he's been prepared to turn up at Challengers and put himself out there and play week in, week out – you've gotta tip your hat that he's out there and doing it,' Rasheed says. 'But I think Bernie's game, unfortunately, with the tennis and the position the Tour's in now, it's gone a long way past him.'
But the goals are his now, and he seems more determined than ever to achieve them.
How else do you explain his commitment to travelling to no-name tournaments in locations as far flung as Rwanda, India, Colombia and the Dominican Republic?
Which is why this time, he might just achieve those goals.
'I think that's a reasonable call,' says Mike Ford, the president of Tennis Gold Coast, who has known Tomic for more than 20 years and hit with him when the freakishly talented junior was just 11.
He too watched Tomic's retirement in Chicago on Wednesday morning, but still argues that his late-career resurgence should be celebrated.
'If he was the 184th best lawyer in the world, or the 184th best scientist we'd be saying he's unbelievable,' he says. 'But he's a tennis player, so we realise that there's a drop off after 20 or 40, and we don't really care.
'But the reality is, it's a terrific effort to get that high at his age.
'You're probably dreaming of too much if you think he could get inside the top 50, but the fact he's got that mentality that makes him turn up every week, anything's possible.'
Watching Tomic play recently, you can tell he still has plenty of what made him the best junior player on the planet.
The delicate touch is still there, so is the precision, shot selection and the creativity.
But the sight of him sitting down after going behind 0-2 in the third against Dostanic, is a reminder of that part of his game too.
'He's smart, he understands the game and he is going to have those wins, but the reality is, what else would he do?' asks Rasheed.
'It's tough financially too for players in that vulnerable spot, because you need to perform every week.
'You need a lot to go in your favour to jump to the next level and get yourself on the main tour again, and I'd be very surprised if that was available to Bernie anymore.'
Still, Ford hopes Tomic might still change peoples' minds if he achieves his goal of cracking the top 100 again.
'I think people come around with time,' he said. 'He's taken a different pathway, but he's there and he's competing.
'He's getting results.
'I think people will turn and say, 'Gee, look at that guy, he's a worker, he keeps at it'.
'You can't play that many matches a year without having a real love for playing tennis.
'I think he's a little bit more resilient than he used to be, but to what degree we don't know. But hey, it's got him to 184th in the world, and that's terrific.'
Next stop, the US Open qualifiers.
Hopefully. Brendan Bradford Content producer
Brendan Bradford is a sports writer for CODE Sports. He primarily covers combat sports, league, union, cycling and athletics. Brendan has worked in sports media for a decade, covering world title fights, World Cups, Grand Slams and Spring Tours. Olympics
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