In truth, the latest slice of news in the saga of Bernard Tomic's troubles with law enforcement agencies in Australia is hardly surprising. Yes, he had turned over a new leaf, figuratively speaking, or said that he would. But he is, as most all tennis players (read: humans) are, a creature of habit. And one of his habits is speeding in his sports car.
That's what he was doing when pulled over by a traffic officer again this week, on the heels of a not-shabby showing at his home-court Grand Slam event, the Australian Open. The thing is, it seems Tomic is being harped on a bit, as he has sometimes claimed, because he is now facing these headlines—Bernard Tomic Loses His Driver’s License—after driving 48 M.P.H. in a 37 M.P.H. zone (or 78 km/h in a 60 km/h area).
Were we all congregated together in person right now, dear readers, I would ask for a show of hands to see who among us has driven 11 M.P.H. over the speed limit recently. And, in the spirit of confession, I must admit that your loyal Spin keeper has been pulled over by the authorities a total of 20 times to date. (How many tickets do I have? Just three. More on that at a later date, maybe.)
Now it's on Tomic to once again rehab his hemorrhaging image. That's unfortunate, as he comported himself so well at the Aussie, taking out some top guns (ever heard of Novak Djokovic?) in warm-up events and giving Roger Federer a good go of it early in Melbourne. Seems it's back to square one for "Bernie," as Darren Cahill affectionately calls him. Even Andre Agassi is weighing in on his personal turmoil, and the language that he uses is, at times, dramatic:
"Is it possible it comes from a deeper, darker place? It's possible he goes down as an under achiever. It would be complete speculation. But I lived it, I knew what I felt, I understood what people saw."
To be fair, Agassi withholds judgment and speaks downright charitably about Tomic's present plight elsewhere in that piece. But the fact of the matter stands: It's put-up-or-shut-up season for Tomic. So often it's about girlfriends and guilt trips with him. He's too wildly talented to blow it, too smart and crafty on court to let off-court hijinks rule his life. In short, he needs to stop being a spectator in his own career.
—Jonathan Scott (@jonscott9)