Bernard Tomic faces being docked a portion of his £35,000 prize money after a lifeless first-round defeat by the No27 seed, Mischa Zverev, after which the Australian confessed to being “bored” with tennis.
The 24-year-old – who earned the nickname “Tomic the Tank Engine” for seeming to give up during some matches – denied he had deliberately quit but did appear to lose interest after dropping the first set and offered little resistance in going down 6-4, 6-3, 6-4 in only 84 minutes.
However, that was merely the hors d’oeuvre to an extraordinary press conference in which Tomic conceded he is disillusioned with tennis and no longer cares whether he does well in grand slams – and he does not appear inclined to put in the work to make the most of his talent.
“It was definitely a mental issue out there,” said Tomic, who reached the quarter-finals at Wimbledon in 2011 and the last 16 in 2016. “I felt a little bit bored, to be completely honest with you. It’s tough, you know.
“I’m 24. I came on tour at 16, 17. I have been around and feels like I’m super old but I’m not. I’m still 24 and it was tough to find motivation out there.”
Wimbledon officials confirmed to the Guardian that the referee’s office had been made aware of Tomic’s performance and comments, and was investigating them.
Kim Clijsters was among the former players who suggested Tomic is wasting his talent and should take a break, but he scoffed at the thought.
“No, I’m happy with my life,” he said. “It’s my choice. I know I have to work hard. For sure, I don’t do the right work but I feel holding a trophy or doing well doesn’t satisfy me any more. It’s not there.
“I couldn’t care less if I make a fourth-round US Open or I lose first round. To me, everything is the same.”
Tomic’s behaviour infuriated fans back home, with one tweeting that he “would have to be the laziest tennis player to ever step foot on court. I am embarrassed to call him a fellow Aussie”. Another said “Can we deport Bernard Tomic”?
His response was to suggest that his critics back home were probably sitting in front of computers earning A$50 an hour. “You know, I’m going to play another 10 years and I know after my career I won’t have to work again,” he added.
Zverev was surprised at the ease of his victory, given he had been well beaten by Tomic at Eastbourne last week. “He knows what to do on the grass court, knows what shots to use,” Zverev said. “He beat me quite easily a few days ago, so I was expecting a very tough match.”
Tomic sounded unconvinced when asked whether he would be willing to work harder to turn round his fortunes. “Sometimes I do, sometimes I don’t,” he said. “I’m just speaking the honest truth about it. When I was 19 and 20, and 20 or 25 in the world , I was enjoying it. But now it’s a rollercoaster and I just can’t seem to find the commitment to work hard, to enjoy and to lift trophies. Maybe I have to look at a few things and maybe play less tournaments.”
Tomic’s defeat was one of three more for Australian men on the second day as Thanasi Kokkinakis went down 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (2), 6-4 to the No29 seed, Juan Martín Del Potro, and Jordan Thompson lost 6-4, 6-4, 7-6 (4) to the No25 seed, Albert Ramos-Viňolas.
With Nick Kyrgios retiring with a hip injury in the second set of his opener against Pierre-Hugues Herbert, and John Millman and Andrew Whittington also losing on Monday, it means Australia have suffered a humiliating first-ever Wimbledon first-round men’s wipeout.
Kokkinakis pointed out that tough draws were a part of the reason for the poor performance and also expressed sympathy for Tomic. “It’s tough for him,” he said. “There is a lot of pressure on him, obviously. He came up being so good. Hopefully he can get it together because he’s a really good player, especially when he’s switched on.”
Elsewhere, last year’s runner-up, Milos Raonic, had few problems in beating Jan-Lennard Struff 7-6 (5), 6-2, 7-6 (4) to book a second round against Mikhail Youzhny. “I’ve played him a bunch of times and lost to him the last time I played,” said Raonic, who is seeded No6. “I have to be very disciplined with myself.”
The No8 seed, Dominic Thiem, who reached the semi-final of this year’s French Open, produced one of his best performances on grass as he beat the big-serving Vasek Pospisil 6-4, 6-4, 6-3.
Alexander Zverev, Tomas Berdych, Grigor Dimitrov and Jack Sock were also among the seeds to comfortably make it to the second round. However the No19, Feliciano López, is out after retiring with an ankle injury while two sets to one down against Adrian Mannarino whose fellow Frenchman Richard Gasquet, the No22 seed, is also out after losing 6-3, 6-4, 5-7, 6-2 to David Ferrer.
