Wimbledon 2019: Bernard Tomic’s feeble opening round exit could come under official scrutiny

Bernard Tomic shrugged off the prospect of being stripped of his Wimbledon prizemoney after another feeble grand slam surrender. For his opponent however the result came as no surprise.

Bernard Tomic is certain to come under the scrutiny of Wimbledon officials after another feeble grand slam surrender.

The Queenslander flopped 6-2 6-1 6-4 against Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in only 58 minutes — the second fastest men’s singles loss of the tournament.

In a match with echoes of the Queenslander’s equally soft French Open surrender to Taylor Fritz, Tomic earned $81,000, making each of the 47 points he won worth $1723 a piece.

“I just played terrible,” Tomic said.

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It was not a good day at the office for Bernard Tomic.

“I returned pretty bad. Didn’t see his serve. Pretty terrible match.

“Played well last week. This week, tough first round. I knew if I didn’t feel good I’d lose this match quickly.

“We played so fast. It’s not like we’re gonna have a lot of rallies out there, for sure.

“I think I played as best as I could. It’s just I played terrible. And he served 24 aces.”

For Tsonga, Tomic’s efforts came as no surprise.

“I expected a match like this,” he said.

Tournament officials will review the match and make a judgment under the sport’s “best efforts” provisions.

How many “shortest matches” has Tomic been a part of?

— Marcy Strauss (@profmarcy) July 2, 2019

Tomic should NOT receive any match payments & be charged with tanking, & after so many pathetic efforts should NEVER be accepted to play tournament tennis or represent Australia ever again

— Mark McLachlan (@MarkTMcLachlan) July 2, 2019

Tomic would not be the first player to be fined for alleged lack of effort in recent weeks.

America’s Anna Tatishvili was stripped of her first round prize money at Roland Garros for “not playing at a professionalstandard”.

She lost to Greece’s 33rd-ranked Maria Sakkari, 6-0, 6-1 in just 55 minutes, only three minutes fewer than Tomic who had playeda set more.

Tatishvili had returned to competition following a 31-month absence due to a serious ankle injury and multiple surgeries.

She is appealing the ruling, claiming she is the victim of discrimination.

Bernard Tomic was thrashed by Jo-Wilfred Tsonga of France.

It comes as a mystery Spanish psychologist has emerged as Alex de Minaur’s secret Wimbledon weapon as the tyro attempts to reach the second week of a major for the first time.

Due to face heavy-hitting American Steve Johnson in the second round, de Minaur said the psychologist had transformed his mindset — and career.

“It’s unbelievable the rise I have had, thanks to the work I have done with him,” de Minaur said after trouncing French Open semi-finalist and former world No 16 Marco Cecchinato.

France's Jo-Wilfried Tsonga cleaned the floor with Bernard Tomic.

“Often I sort of forget how important it is, and might not put in as much time as needs to be put in, because you sort of focus on your training, your fitness.

“But your mind is equally or even more important than all those other aspects in your tennis game.

“So when everything is balanced and everything is working well then you can definitely see the results.

Alex de Minaur had a huge first-round win. Picture: Ella Pellegrini

“This year, I’ve got a lot more expectation on myself, a lot more pressure. I’ve got to back my ranking.

“Didn’t realise how much more I needed to talk to a psychologist now. “Obviously my eyes got opened up, and I’m glad they did. I’m in a great head space and really enjoying myself out there.”