‘Not relevant anymore’: Nick Kyrgios’ swipe at ‘dead broke’ Bernard Tomic

Nick Kyrgios has taken a fresh swipe at Bernard Tomic, claiming the Aussie tennis star is “not very good anymore” and “dead broke”.

Australian tennis star Nick Kyrgios has taken a fresh swipe at former Davis Cup teammate Bernard Tomic, claiming the world No. 417 is “not very good anymore” and “dead broke”.

The controversial and outspoken pair’s relationship has been up and down over the years and things escalated dramatically last week as Kyrgios labelled Tomic “the most hated athlete in Australia”.

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Tomic had been in the tennis wilderness for years before revealing in December he was getting serious about his comeback to the court.

This year, the 29-year-old has been competing on the second tier Challenger Tour — rather than the top-level ATP Tour — failing to make it past the second round of any event.

Kyrgios recently claimed that Tomic’s money situation was so bad, he couldn’t afford to pay for return flights from Shanghai and the Canberran forked out for the bill.

“He’s not relevant anymore, he’s not good anymore, and he’s obviously got money issues. For someone who actually tried to stand up for him before and actually try and help him out … my family helped him out before. I paid for his flights back from Shanghai because he had no money,” Kyrgios said, as reported by The Daily Telegraph.

“For him to come out and attack me is extremely disrespectful, I think. I am one of the people who actually tried to stand by him and tried to support him.

“First of all, I don’t know who’s going to put the million dollars for him because he’s dead broke. Second of all, I have bigger fish to fry. I’m trying to get ready for Wimbledon and the US Open. But one day if it happens I want 95 per cent of the cut because no one is watching it for him anymore.

“He’s got a lot of struggles right now, and I feel for him. He’s someone that had an extremely brutal upbringing and there’s no denying that. But I feel like he lives in the past now, it’s time to take ownership of your life, show some accountability.

“I’m making millions of dollars right now … tournaments are still paying me €50,000 (AU$74,000) just to show up. I don’t need to get in the ring, I’m not desperate.

“I’m a professional tennis player, still playing at the highest level of sport. Bernard is not.

Bernard Tomic and Nick Kyrgios in 2019. Photo by William WEST / AFP

Bernard Tomic of Australia. AAP Image/Daniel Pockett

Nick Kyrgios of Australia. Photo by Frederic J. BROWN / AFP

Last week, Tomic mocked Kyrgios in a bizarre social media call-out.

“The only logical explanation is that I’m his idol,” Tomic said in an Instagram video. “He’s always been in my shadow growing up.

“That’s why anytime someone mentions my name to him, it gets under his skin.

“He knows my style dominates his and he knows he will lose.”

Tomic then called for the pair to play a one-off tennis match. He beat Kyrgios in their only previous match at the 2019 Kooyong Classic.

The challenge escalated further when Tomic proposed to settle the grudge on the basketball court or in a $1 million boxing fight.

“BT, I’m still playing on the tour, my brother. I’ve got bigger fish to fry,” Kyrgios responded on Instagram.

“I’m actually in a grass court training block right now preparing for tournaments. Wimbledon and then US Open swing.

“I’ll be waiting for you and if you’re capable of playing a decent level of tennis, you’ll show that. There’s no need to go through the media (and) use my name to get relevant again. Let’s just see your results, stop living in the past and let’s play each other on the main tour.”

Kyrgios’ best ranking is 13th and he has made $9.7 million in careey prizemoney, while Tomic once reached a high of world No. 17 while accumulating $6.3 million on the court, according to the ATP.