Bernard Tomic happy to put a troubled season of controversy behind him
Australian has no qualms wiping his hands of a year he would rather forget and, with a reduced schedule next year, is keen to make a fresh start when he opens his season in Brisbane
Bernard Tomic has no qualms wiping his hands of a year he would rather forget and, with a reduced schedule next year, is keen to make a fresh start when he opens his season in Brisbane.
The 24-year-old Tomic, once considered Australia’s next great hope in men’s tennis, was plagued by an abdominal injury, fined for swearing at a fan, accused of not trying and involved in a spat with the Australian Olympic team chief this year.
Despite reaching a career-high ranking of 17, the issues only reinforced a feeling amongst fans and the media that he was not overly interested in playing the sport, though that was something he denied on Wednesday.
“I’m not the best, I’m not the brightest, but we all have our problems,” Tomic told reporters on the Gold Coast ahead of the January 1-7 Brisbane International tournament.
“I think the main thing is I’m doing what I love and I really respect the sport.”
Tomic said he was now clear of the abdominal injury that blighted a year in which he made just one final, at Acapulco, and two other semi-finals, at Brisbane and the Queen’s Club in London.