Wimbledon: Tomic says he was 'bored' on court, admits he doesn't respect the sport enough

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  • 'Feeling old': Bernard Tomic.

    Bernard Tomic admits he felt “bored” on the court during his straight-sets defeat to No27 seed Mischa Zverev and that he’s struggling for motivation.

    The 24-year-old Tomic, who reached the Wimbledon quarter-finals as a teenager in 2011, lost 6-4, 6-3, 6-4 to Zverev, just five days after he had beaten the German in Eastbourne en route to the quarter-finals there.

    Tomic created zero break point opportunities and fell tamely to Zverev in less than 90 minutes.

    “It was definitely a mental issue out there. Yeah, I just tried to break a bit of momentum but just couldn’t find any rhythm and wasn’t mentally and physically there with my mental state to perform. I don’t know why but I felt a little bit bored out there. To be completely honest with you,” confessed Tomic after the loss.

    “So I tried at the end and stuff, he managed to win that set 6-3 or 6-4, but it was too late.”

    Tomic, nicknamed by Australian media as ‘Tomic the Tank Engine’, concedes that he is often a victim of lack of motivation.

    “Well, I think I have done it a lot in my career, and I paid the price. There is a lot of good tennis players out there that, in my opinion, will not win slams. It was just won by a lot of these top guys, and I believe there are many, many good players that will not win slams,” said the Aussie, who has dropped to 9-15 win-loss this season.

    “Hopefully maybe I can win one in my career. Maybe not. We’ll see.”

    He added: “It’s tough, you know. I’m 24. I have done, came on tour at 16, 17. I have been around and feels like I’m super old, but I’m not.

    “So just trying to find something, this is my eighth Wimbledon or ninth I think. I’m still 24, and it’s tough to find motivation. Really, me being out there on the court, to be honest with you, I just couldn’t find any motivation.

    “To me, this is one of the biggest tournaments in the world that I have done really well in my career, and, yeah, I just couldn’t find anything. It’s happened to me a lot. Just can’t find anything on the court.”

    Tomic peaked at No17 in the world last year but is now down to 59 has been a highly-touted talent ever since his early teenage years. He admits he does not commit to the sport the way he should.

    “It’s my choice. I know I have to work hard. For sure I don’t do the right work. You know, you need to be super fit and you have to enjoy it and you have to travel a lot. I have experienced a lot until 24,” he explains.

    “I know I have another 10 years to go. We all work for one thing. And I believe you have to respect the sport. But I think I don’t respect it enough, yes, because I, you can say, super talented.

    “I just believe playing many years on tour now has sort of come, taken a toll. You need to find that sort of energy. I’m just trying to find something. Now heading into the US maybe play well in some tournaments there. Nothing to lose. Just try and enjoy it.”

    While other players from the younger generation have been stepping up like the 20-year-old Alexander Zverev who recently won the Masters 1000 title in Rome, or the 23-year-old Dominic Thiem who is in the top-10 and made back-to-back French Open semi-finals, Tomic says he is finding no satisfaction in good results anymore.

    “I feel holding a trophy or  doing well, it doesn’t satisfy me anymore. It’s not there. I couldn’t care less if I make a fourth round US Open or I lose first round. To me, everything is the same. I’m going to play another 10 years, and I know after my career I won’t have to work again. So for me this is mental,” he says.

    His compatriot Thanasi Kokkinakis, who lost to Juan Martin del Potro in four sets on Tuesday, can understand why Tomic can be feeling “super old”.

    “I feel like Bernie has been playing Wimbledon since he was about 11,” said Kokkinakis.

    “It’s crazy he’s 24 because he was been around so long. He was so good young. I think personally he’s like a top-five talent in the world.

    “But I don’t know. It’s tough for him. There is a lot of pressure on him obviously. He came up being so good. Hopefully he can get it together because he’s a really good player, especially when he’s switched on. He’s so skillful.”

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