Bernard Tomic will not feature in the men's singles draw at the Australian Open for the first time in his professional career, falling in the third round of qualifying for the Grand Slam event.
The 25-year-old cruised in the first round of qualifying and was up a set and 5-2 in the second round before having to come back and win the third in a tiebreak to get the victory. But he fell 6-1, 6-7 (5), 6-4 against Italy's Lorenzo Sonego, looking sluggish in the first set but then calling the trainer and producing a more competitive showing.
A former teen prodigy, Tomic has been a fixture in the men's draw at his home major since he was a 15-year-old.
But having now dropped down to No. 143 in the rankings, the talented but erratic Australian will now have to play more qualifying and challenger events should he decide to rebuild his ranking. Speaking to press, Tomic deflected questions on what he would do following this event.
"I just count money, that's all I do. I count my millions. You go do what I did [on court]," he was quoted by AAP as saying.
Speaking at the Kooyong exhibition before playing in the qualifying, Tomic had spoken of wanting to get back to a consistent level and said he wanted to still have a long career, in contrast to previous statements about lacking motivation for the game.
Tomic is a former Grand Slam quarterfinalist and Top 20 player.
