"Today I gave 100 percent in the first set. I felt in the second set, my 100 percent wasn't even close to where it should be...the mental skill is one of my biggest problems."—Bernard Tomic, after absorbing a 6-4, 6-0 beating at the hands of Florian Mayer at the Shanghai Masters.
In the business, when we get hold of a story that keeps producing new, fresh stories and follow-ups, we say that story has “legs.” And the legs of this one seem as long as those of the 6’5” beanpole at the center of this serial tanking controversy.
If you remember, numerous pundits and fans, including Tomic’s countryman and Davis Cup captain Pat Rafter, as well as television commentator John McEnroe, criticized the Aussie for basically giving up during his U.S. Open second-round match with Andy Roddick.
Just weeks later, Tomic was said to have exchanged angry words with Davis Cup coach and tennis icon Tony Roche in the course of his desultory performance against the same Mayer in the critical fourth match of Australia’s tie against Germany. Tomic lost that match and Cedric-Marcel Stebe then clinched the tie for the Germans.
Tomic and Roche later denied they were arguing and Roche said he was just trying to encourage the erratic 19-year-old. Tomic claimed he responded to Roche’s cheerleading with nothing more insolent than the claim that he was choking, that he was “tight.”
That last bit is, at least, plausible. In fact, the most improved part of Tomic’s game this year seems to be his ability to get tight and then, eventually, discouraged, disgusted, and disinterested. As Simon Cambers of The Tennis Space tells us, Tomic hasn’t won even a set against a Top 20 player since he promised so much by reaching the fourth round of the Australian Open.
The world No. 43 Tomic is not just gifted, he’s talented in a compelling way. And players like that often have more trouble finding their way. It would be a shame to see him ground down and ruined by the familiar trials visited upon players who are a little different, and who perhaps don’t quite have the toughness of born champions or the work ethic of less gifted apprentices.
This can hardly be called a make-it or break-it year, but Tomic needs to learn from it, and make some changes in his attitude and approach to the game—starting with a change of coaches. His only coach currently is his father, John Tomic.
"It's been a long year," Tomic said recently. "I played a lot of tournaments. [I] haven't had time to rest. . .”
Odd words from a guy whose proverbial “work week” ended pretty early for the majority of the summer.
