Bernard Tomic is hard to like, but I have some sympathy for him.
During his extraordinary tirade against Tennis Australia, its president Stephen Healy, CEO Craig Tiley and Pat Rafter, Tomic didn’t miss anyone.
But who was he firing the bullets for – himself, or his father John?
It’s no secret John Tomic and Tennis Australia are at arm’s length, which was verified yesterday by one of Australia’s tennis legends John Newcombe.
“The relationship between John Tomic and Tennis Australia is irreparable”.
And let me tell you if anybody can’t get on with Healy, Tiley, or Rafter, they have a major problem – and the problem is definitely not those three.
So where to from here?
Tennis Australia has sacked Bernard Tomic from the Davis Cup tie in Darwin against Kazakhstan from July 17 to 19, and in retaliation Nick Kyrgios has threatened to quit the Cup squad as well.
What an unholy mess at a time when tennis in Australia was on the rise after decades in the wilderness.
When I was a kid, if an Australian didn’t win the majority of men’s Slam singles titles, there was almost a Royal Commission.
And because the Australians were so good and so successful, kids of my age wanted to be like them, and tennis courts sprung up all over Sydney to cater for the huge increase in interest.
In the 1950s, Australians won 22 of the 40 Slams, and were runners up in 23 – so there were 45 Australian representatives out of a possible 80 who were involved in the deciders of that decade.
It was even better in the 1960s, when Australians won 32 of 40 Slams, with 23 runners up – 55 Australians among 80 finalists.
The 1970s was an era where tennis courts were being sold for huge profits as the home unit boom started to spread.
Simple equation – less courts, less tennis players.
Having won 54 Slams in just two decades, and been runners up 46 times, the tennis drought in Australia set in.
In the next 45 years, Australians have won just 13 Slams, and been runners up 15 times.
How the mighty had fallen.
But with Tomic, Nick Kyrgios and Thanasi Kokkinakis starting to make serious noises, Australia’s long-suffering tennis fans could see light at the end of the tunnel – even if the traditionalists aren’t all that keen over the antics.
The answer is for John Tomic to zip it, and there’s every chance peace will reign.
That’s a big ask on Tomic Sr’s part, but instead of putting his son between a rock and a hard place, support him by being like the vast majority of tennis fathers around the world.
Stop making waves and trouble for his own satisfaction.
Failing that, I get the distinct impression Lleyton Hewitt may well be the catalyst for peace.
All the current youngsters respect Hewitt and look up to him, so they are on the same page, and that’s a positive launching pad for success.
He just played his last Wimbledon, and the Darwin Davis Cup tie will be his last as a player before he takes over as Cup captain.
There’s still likely to be a rocky road until Hewitt’s in Davis Cup control, but fingers crossed that will be the awakening point.
The sport deserves nothing less.
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