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.
Bryan
Guest
I believe Tomic is or can be a very good player. He lacks l large amounts of determination and has proved himself a dogger until he grows up and commits to his sport he will be forgotten
Peaches
Guest
Tomic was playing the world number 1 and was an extreme long shot to win the match, even more so after he lost the first set. Why continue if he is injured, as the scans have showed? People just like to hate Tomic because he's a young talented bloke who enjoys himself and talking him down makes them feel better. Of course they're jealous of a bloke who drives fast cars, gets paid plenty of money to play the sport he loves. He has made some errors but I've seen some stuff from him which shows he is on the right path. The final in Sydney and a good showing at the Hopman Cup for example. Here's hoping he's back on the courts soon, we see a consistent year from him and the country supports him rather then criticizing everything he does.
Adam
Guest
If I was a young, rich and famous sportsman I'd be driving around a Ferrari and clubbing with babes as well. Good on him, it's his life to live
Gergos
Guest
I think the issue here is that very few Australians are aware of the Serbo-Croatian mentality that has been surrounding Bernard since he was a child. As a Croatian myself, I have seen all too often the arrogant and self proclaimed superiority voiced from people of all generations in Croatia. Bernard’s parents are no different. From a young age, Bernard has been instilled with the view that ‘you are better than him’ and that ‘you are a champion’ etc. Inevitably, this leads to him thinking he is superior. It is a really sad thing to see as he has overwhelming amounts of talent, but his drive and willingness to succeed are not there because of this. From a psychological stand point, he has narcissistic traits. He has a hugely inflated ego and is not a realist when it comes to assessing both his achievements and his downfalls. Again, this stems from his family environment and the fact that he has been brought up in a very demented family environment. Not only is his father, John, violent, but he honestly believes that he has superior knowledge of tennis compared to a seasoned professional coach. That surely speaks volumes about the mentality Bernard is brought up around. With all due respect, Tomic Snr is a father. Not a coach. We have seen this type of relationship time and time again with the likes of ‘The Scud’ and Monica Seles. More often than not, it ends badly. Bernard’s only hope, in my opinion, is to rid himself of his father and adopt the services of a coach like Darren Cahill. Until then, results and efforts like the one we saw on Tuesday evening are only going to continue.