Aussie tennis star Bernard Tomic has launched an extraordinary attack on Tennis Australia and Pat Rafter, accusing them of neglecting and disrespecting him, and withdrawing their support.
The 22-year-old had previously promised to air his grievances after his Wimbledon 2015 campaign ended – barely an hour after his defeat by defending champ Novak Djokovic, he let them have it.
In a post-match press conference, Tomic accused Tennis Australia Chief Executive Craig Tiley and President Stephen Healy of neglecting and disrespecting him, and Rafter of incompetence.
The young player spoke, uninterrupted, for nearly five minutes, telling the assembled journalists about his issues, which he says were highlighted following his hip surgery after the 2014 Australian Open:
“There has been [a] lack of support towards me. There has been no respect I think towards me. It’s been difficult, you know, been good player the last three, four years coming up, and, you know, people expecting a lot from you. All of a sudden, things started changing after I had that surgery. You know, I didn’t get one phone call from Tennis Australia, Can we help you, Bernard? Can we do this? Do you need something?”“Nothing. No phone calls were there. You know, I was on my own and felt really bad to such a high level as Tennis Australia, who supported me along the way very good. You know, don’t get me wrong. From what Pat said, a lot of money was invested in me, for sure. But whatever they invested in me, they got in return 10, 20 times more. That’s 100 per cent certain. Now all of a sudden, they are neglecting me, for some reason.”
Earlier this year, Pat Rafter took on the role of Tennis Australia’s Director of Performance, but Tomic was highly critical of this, saying that the veteran player “doesn’t know what he’s doing” in an administrative role.
One of his main grievances arose from the fact that, during wet weather in the lead up to last year’s Brisbane International, Tomic was made to pay for his own undercover court hire and balls at Royal Pines and Pat Rafter Arena.
“What’s [Pat Rafter’s] job?” asked Tomic. “He doesn’t know what he’s doing. It’s crazy. Meanwhile, he’s charging me for balls. Charging me for balls and court at his own arena nine days before [a competition]. What’s he doing?”
“What’s going on?” Tomic fumed. “Where is the support? How can you do this? It’s not about the money. It’s about the respect.”
Tomic also revealed that Aussie number one Nick Kyrgios had offered to sit out this year’s Davis Cup quarter final if he didn’t play, but that he will be playing in the tournament despite the recent bad blood.
“I’m going to go down there and play for the respect of Davis Cup, for the respect of the Australian public, for myself, and mainly for the respect of, you know, Lleyton and the team,” he said.
Rafter and Tennis Australia have yet to respond.
Kyrgios, meanwhile, has had an eventful Wimbledon – after fighting with an umpire and then another umpire, he made headlines again today after slamming a racket down onto the court after a missed break point against Milos Raonic.
via Herald Sun
Photo: Shaun Botterill via Getty Images
Photo: Shaun Botterill via Getty Images
