To divide a nation sounds quite difficult on paper. So what to make of Bernard Tomic’s retirement last night? Was it fair he was booed? Should he have continued? Why am I asking so many questions?
I will preface everything I am about to say by stating I am not a huge Tomic fan, nor am I anti-Tomic.
If he is playing I want him to win. If he loses while giving effort I have no issue with that.
I have had issues with Tomic due to him seemingly losing many matches against inferior talent, and displaying an anti-fight attitude on more than one occasion.
When you read and hear players both current and past who are often questioning his work ethic and commitment, it is hard to not draw that negative conclusion about him.
But still, when he plays I support.
I have often wondered if Australia’s genuine dislike of him stems in some small way from him being from a non-Anglo background. I am sure this is the case for some of his detractors – much like Mark Philippoussis (Greek) and Jelena Dokic (Serbia) before him.
Maybe it is the crazy tennis dad involvement, also much like Dokic and to a lesser extent Philippoussis?
But I rationale that with Lleyton Hewitt. He has never been universally loved by the nation either, and he is as about as Australian as you get.
So it must be an attitude thing right?
Bernard loves fast cars, speeding around the Gold Coast and hitting the clubs up with his shirt off. Australians hate that.
You cannot show off your toys. If you are rich, please leave your expensive car at home.
Jealousy fuels hatred more than anything else. Maybe we as a nation are just jealous.
With all that said, Tomic retires after the first set last night. Would he have won if he was not hurt? Probably not. Rafael Nadal is Rafael Nadal after all.
One thing you hear athletes say all the time is an athlete knows their body better than any doctor. I’m no pro athlete but I do have a groin; it’s kind of a big deal. And running is kind of important in tennis, especially playing against Nadal.
(Side note: Is there are worst player in the world to play against with a leg ailment than Nadal? No!)
It really was a lose/lose last night. You play on, fight through it bravely, garner new respect from the tennis public, and maybe even have the phrase ‘aussie fighting spirit’ used to describe your performance.
You retire, and you are soft, pea-hearted and (dare I say it) unAustralian!
I feel he made the right call. That is not an area of the body to mess with, too much risk for further damage, and totally outweighed in comparison to possible reward for playing on.
The motivation should not be to ‘win over’ the public at the expense of significant time off the tour.
It sucks because it is a major at home. It sucks for Channel Seven and the ratings, and for those in attendance.
But I can assure you – despite my doubts about’s Bernard’s passion at times – I am positive it sucks for him more.
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