Gold Coast tennis star Bernard Tomic tells all in emotional interview
CONTROVERSIAL Gold Coast tennis star Bernard Tomic in his most revealing interview yet — talks partying, tanking and having no regrets.
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BERNARD Tomic continues to publicly bare his soul, talking everything from whether he tanks matches to how much he parties in his latest emotional interview.
The 24-year-old told Seven on Sunday’s Melissa Doyle to “go as hard as you can” and promised not to walk out in an interview which aired tonight.
In a typically candid display, the Gold Coaster didn’t resile from comments he made at Wimbledon when he opened up about being bored on court at times and struggling for motivation.
He also said he had no regret at boasting soon after Wimbledon that others could only “dream” about having what he had at 24.
“Yep I did say that. I don’t regret what I said,” he told Seven.
“At the end of the day, it might look in one view a bit bad the way I said it and we Australians don’t like that, we don’t like those sort of comments ... that’s why I said it, piss a few people off.”
At one point when showed footage of himself aged 12, saying he loved tennis from the “ground to the sky, it’s my soul”, he became emotional and asked if he could “cry now” before thanking Doyle for showing it to him, saying it was motivating and emotional to see.
Asked if he was just playing now for the money, he said: “Basically yeah. I didn’t come from a rich family.
“I was 12-13 years old, nobody knows the sort of life I had. We came to Australia with basically nothing. It was tough. We had a car, $200, $300, and now maybe going buying cars for half a million, a million, living in these lavish houses, property around the world, it’s my choice ... I’ve worked for it and I’ve earned it.
“Being 24 and in my opinion achieving a lot in this sport, it’s affected me a little bit mentally and emotionally. Now it’s just about finding my balance and pushing on the next 10 years and being successful.”
Asked about his reputation for partying, he said: “We all deserve at the end of the week or in my sorta’ case end of the month or every couple of months to let loose. I can get loose, I can get crazy, depends where I am.”
Asked if he was “over it” by way of explaining his Wimbledon comments, he said: “Not really, yes I had dreams of winning Grand Slams and being number one at 19, 20, but throughout my career I’ve given 100 per cent. I’ve given also 30 per cent but if you balance it out all my career has been about 50 per cent.
Doyle: “What makes you happy?”
“Not many things, not many things can make me super happy. If I ever get the chance to win a Grand Slam maybe then I can truly feel the feeling of being really happy and knowing what you work hard for all your career. Maybe I can light it up and win a Grand Slam or two, we’ll have to find out, only time will tell.”
When Ms Doyle told him she loved his honesty but she felt frustrated by him and didn’t know whether to feel sorry for him or give him a kick up the butt, he laughed and replied: “I know, you are confused like me. I’m confused, that’s who I am, I’m a confusing player on the tennis court as well.
“I’m a normal person, I’m not Superman, I’m not Federer. I’m not as bad as a person as people see I am. I’m just Bernard.”
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