Jelena Dokic says Bernard Tomic needs help and I’m A Celeb appearance is a bad decision
BERNARD Tomic needs help. Going into the jungle with cameras on you 24/7 is a bad idea. No-one knows where he is at mentally or what he is going through, that’s why I don’t want his story compared to mine, writes Jelena Dokic.
Tennis
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BERNARD Tomic is lost.
He needs to take a break and figure out what he wants.
I don’t know where he is at mentally, but he needs some help.
I’m not sure of his reasons, but going into a jungle where cameras are on you 24/7 is not the solution.
No one really knows what he is going through, which is why I don’t want my story and what I went through to be connected with his.
For one, I don’t know Bernard’s story. Nobody does.
Everyone’s situation is unique.
My own experience was very extreme. I was abused from the age of six for 20 years, but I can’t speak on what he has going on.
No-one can, we just don’t know.
I can understand people trying to draw some parallels between us, but there are at least two very big differences from what I can see.
JUNGLE-BOUND BERNARD: I’M HERE TO CHANGE MY LIFE
Firstly, I love tennis and he has spoken openly about the fact he has no love for the sport.
When I was battling heavy depression I wanted to go on court.
When I almost committed suicide, I still wanted to go on court.
I love tennis so much. I wanted to be on the tour, I wanted to play. Actually, I needed to play.
Secondly, the things he has been saying, I would never say.
He has said things in the past few years, and more recently about counting his money, I could never imagine myself saying.
I can’t relate to that.
Lashing out as he does is probably a defence mechanism.
But whatever the reason, he is just making life worse for himself.
Not just with the media but with the public and the fans; his comments make it hard to understand him, or sympathise.
I know Bernie a bit; I’ve spent time with him and he has always been a nice guy.
I saw him before qualifying in Melbourne and he seemed as he always does, but you cannot read how someone is doing mentally with an exchange of a few sentences.
His next step is now the jungle, which is going to be difficult to deal with.
Anything you do and say is out there for everyone to see.
Once the show has finished, we will see whether he takes a break or goes straight back to the court.
Can he turn his tennis career around? I believe he can.
To do that, he’ll have to ask himself some tough questions now.
If it’s as straightforward as having no joy with the game then the question is do you continue playing?
If you’re not fired up going out on court at Wimbledon or the Australian Open then you have a problem.
A tennis player can’t be without motivation, whether it’s love of the sport, money or something else it doesn’t matter. But you have to be motivated by something.
Next question is if he does rediscover his joy for the game is he prepared to do the hard work?
He is not at a level to be in the top 50.
He has not played the matches and every day, week and month he is not playing it will get harder.
Physically and mentally it will be a tough battle and only Bernard has the answers.
One thing is for sure, Australians are very forgiving — yes he would have a lot to prove — but we love a comeback story.