Bernard Tomic, who created controversy by declaring that he didn't care about playing a match point in Madrid, has apologized—sort of.
The 23-year-old Australian was criticized for sticking his racquet handle out on match point in his first-round match against Fabio Fognini at the clay-court Masters event.
"I don't care about that match point,” he said after the match. “Would you care if you were 23 and worth over $10 million?"
Asked about his comment, he agreed that he "shouldn't have said that."
"That was my fault,” he told reporters at the French Open. “You got me there. I was just in that moment. I just said that and I was talking to my friends about some things, so it just sort of came out."
Right after issuing the apology, however, he made a remark that was a tad peculiar.
“I don't really care,” he added. “Maybe if I had $100 (million), that's different."
In the next tournament, in Rome, Tomic retired eight minutes into his first-round match, and told Australian media that he had considered skipping the clay-court warm-up events.
He also backed suggestions that he needs greater commitment to reach the top.
"I have improved that a lot, especially in the years after my surgeries, coming back from where I was," he told the Herald Sun. “…I have to get better. You’re not going to get to [the] Top 5, Top 3 in the world or [Top] 10 if you have, all the time, distractions and stuff ... Me, I don’t need to train much to be where I am—30, 20 in the world. I always have the talent.
"You have to give 100 percent all the time and compete all year."
Tomic entered the tournament ranked 22nd in the world.