London: Tennis great Mats Wilander has urged Bernard Tomic to rediscover his love for tennis after the Australian's troubled career took another turn for the worse.
Tomic was stripped of his prizemoney for not meeting the "professional standard" expected in his first-round loss at Wimbledon.
The All England Lawn Tennis Club revealed on Thursday night (AEST) that Tomic had forfeited his prizemoney of £45,000 ($80,000) for his 58-minute defeat at the hands of Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.
"All players are expected to perform to a professional standard in every grand slam match. With respect to first-round performance, if in the opinion of the referee the player did not perform to the required professional standard, the referee may determine that the player be subject to a fine of up to first round prizemoney," the club said in a statement.
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"It is the opinion of the referee that the performance of Bernard Tomic in his first round match against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga did not meet the required professional standards, and therefore he has been fined the maximum amount of £45,000 which will be deducted from prizemoney."
Bernard Tomic's Wimbledon campaign took less than an hour to fizzle out in a straight-sets loss to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.Credit:PA Wire
Tomic, 26, can appeal the finding.
The controversial player has been accused of not trying previously in his career, and has slipped to No. 96 in the world rankings. He is likely to fall outside the top 100 once Wimbledon is done.
This latest clash, in which the big-serving Tsonga fired down 21 aces compared to Tomic's one, was the shortest men's singles match here in 15 years, and lasted only four minutes longer than it took Roger Federer to defeat Alejandro Falla of Colombia in 2004. Fans were in disbelief when Tomic appeared not to run down shots.
Wilander, the seven-times grand slam champion and former world No. 1, told The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald that Tomic had some serious decisions to make.
"What is my advice? Find something off the court that you really love to do, like playing golf. Then go and play 18 holes there, nine holes here, and then fit in an hour and half [of tennis] practice with your best friend," Wilander said.
"Have fun and then you look at this [tennis] as a complete bonus. If you are not having fun, then this [tennis] is a pain in the arse."
Wilander said Tomic still had the talent to compete at the top level but questioned whether it would ever be fully utilised.
"He has got natural talent in understanding the game and great hands. Physically, he is a bit slower than most players I would say and that is where he could improve the most, his physical explosion part," he said.
Tennis great Mats Wilander offered some advice to a freefallng Tomic.Credit:Joa Armao
"But a lot of players would say it the other way: 'Man, I wiRead More – Source
London: Tennis great Mats Wilander has urged Bernard Tomic to rediscover his love for tennis after the Australian's troubled career took another turn for the worse.
Tomic was stripped of his prizemoney for not meeting the "professional standard" expected in his first-round loss at Wimbledon.
The All England Lawn Tennis Club revealed on Thursday night (AEST) that Tomic had forfeited his prizemoney of £45,000 ($80,000) for his 58-minute defeat at the hands of Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.
"All players are expected to perform to a professional standard in every grand slam match. With respect to first-round performance, if in the opinion of the referee the player did not perform to the required professional standard, the referee may determine that the player be subject to a fine of up to first round prizemoney," the club said in a statement.
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"It is the opinion of the referee that the performance of Bernard Tomic in his first round match against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga did not meet the required professional standards, and therefore he has been fined the maximum amount of £45,000 which will be deducted from prizemoney."
Bernard Tomic's Wimbledon campaign took less than an hour to fizzle out in a straight-sets loss to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.Credit:PA Wire
Tomic, 26, can appeal the finding.
The controversial player has been accused of not trying previously in his career, and has slipped to No. 96 in the world rankings. He is likely to fall outside the top 100 once Wimbledon is done.
This latest clash, in which the big-serving Tsonga fired down 21 aces compared to Tomic's one, was the shortest men's singles match here in 15 years, and lasted only four minutes longer than it took Roger Federer to defeat Alejandro Falla of Colombia in 2004. Fans were in disbelief when Tomic appeared not to run down shots.
Wilander, the seven-times grand slam champion and former world No. 1, told The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald that Tomic had some serious decisions to make.
"What is my advice? Find something off the court that you really love to do, like playing golf. Then go and play 18 holes there, nine holes here, and then fit in an hour and half [of tennis] practice with your best friend," Wilander said.
"Have fun and then you look at this [tennis] as a complete bonus. If you are not having fun, then this [tennis] is a pain in the arse."
Wilander said Tomic still had the talent to compete at the top level but questioned whether it would ever be fully utilised.
"He has got natural talent in understanding the game and great hands. Physically, he is a bit slower than most players I would say and that is where he could improve the most, his physical explosion part," he said.
Tennis great Mats Wilander offered some advice to a freefallng Tomic.Credit:Joa Armao
"But a lot of players would say it the other way: 'Man, I wiRead More – Source
