Bernard Tomic’s interview as pathetic as his play at French Open

Bernard Tomic gave a series of ridiculous answers at a French Open press conference that was only marginally shorter than his match.

Not his day. (Photo by Adam Pretty/Getty Images)

Bernard Tomic suffered a dispiriting exit from the French Open on Tuesday and admitted Australian compatriot Nick Kyrgios was right to say the tournament “sucks”.

Tomic slumped to a 6-1 6-4 6-1 defeat against Taylor Fritz of the United States, leaving him with just three wins in 2019.

The final set on a chilly and damp Court 14 was over in just 20 minutes and the match in 88 minutes, the quickest of the tournament so far.

Fellow firebrand Kyrgios withdrew from Roland Garros with an elbow injury last week but not before saying: “Get rid of the clay, man. Who likes the clay, it is so bad. The French Open sucks … Sucks. Absolute sucks.”

Tomic, never far from controversy, was happy to concur. “I agree with him, with everything,” he said during a monosyllabic press conference that was pathetic as his showing on the court.

Q. Were you at your best out there today or was it the surface or the weather or a combination? What were the factors?

Tomic: Well, I didn’t play good.

Q. What was the exchange with the officials in the second set there?

Tomic: I can’t remember.

Q. Just talk about playing on the clay for you. Obviously it wasn’t the result you wanted today but just talk about in general, it hasn’t been the best year on clay. What do you think of playing on clay? I know a lot of players love it. A lot hate it. What are your thoughts on it?

Tomic: Not for me.

Q. Just as a follow-up to that, Nick said that he didn’t like the French at all.

Tomic: I agree.

Q. Agree with him?

Tomic: Yeah.

Q. In what aspect?

Tomic: I said, I agree. You know everything.

'What do you think of playing on clay?'

Tomic: 'It's not for me'

Just Bernie being Bernie 😂#RG19 pic.twitter.com/lmgrl2eyKL

— ITV Sport (@ITVSport) May 28, 2019

Q. What happened at the end there on that match point? Did you think that serve was in, did you?

Tomic: Yeah, I thought the match was over, but … Thought it would be nice to give him the point because that’s how I felt. But it’s okay. We replayed it.

Q. What’s your plans now?

Tomic: I go to the hotel.

Q. You are obviously coming from Australia which is a country great for tennis and a legendary country. So what kind of inspiration did you get when you grew up from Laver, from Newcombe, from Roche, from all these names?

Tomic: Hardly any because I didn’t watch them.

Q. No, you didn’t watch them but they’re still a big part of Australian tennis life.

Tomic: For sure.

Q. As coaches.

Tomic: Yeah.

Q. Did they have any influence on your forming as a player?

Tomic: For me, no.

Q. So you never came across them or —

Tomic: Oh, yeah, I did, but I didn’t grow up and watch them.

Q. But inspiration can also be from talking, from —

Tomic: Oh, yeah. My idols are not in tennis. Don’t worry.

Q. Okay. But how big a part of the tennis world do you think they are? I mean, where do you place them?

Tomic: I can’t answer that. It’s not for me to answer. They’re legends, but I cannot speak. I can’t answer this question.

Q. Did you feel that you gave your best effort out there today?

Tomic: Pretty sure I did. But, you know, surface is not good for me.

Q. So where to next for you? What’s the next event?

Tomic: Honestly I have no clue. I go to the hotel and see. I have no idea where I’m playing. I have no idea.

Q. Why is this such a difficult tournament for you?

Tomic: I mean, it’s not difficult. It’s just my game is not built for this surface. Everything I do is not good for it. But as long as I’m doing the right thing now, for the next month, is important for me. That’s my focus.

Q. Has there been any discussion with anybody further to the Davis Cup situation? Have you had any discussions with anyone? Anybody reached out? Has your team reached out to anybody?

Tomic: To be honest, no. And haven’t even thought about it since January, so no.

Get me out of here. (Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)

Tomic’s lack of enthusiasm for the task in hand was encapsulated on match point where a serve he thought was out led him to the net to offer his hand.

“I thought the match was over, it would be nice to give him the point because that’s how I felt. But it’s okay. We replayed it.”

The fiery Australian, who shot to fame by making the Wimbledon quarterfinals in 2011 and went on to reach the world top 20, arrived in Paris deep in another slump.

Ranked 84 in the world, he retired with illness at Lyon last week against Canada’s Steven Diez, ranked a lowly 262.

His most recent Grand Slam appearance in Australia in January was overshadowed by a feud with Davis Cup captain Lleyton Hewitt.

The head of Tennis Australia Craig Tiley described Tomic as “bad for the culture of Australian tennis”. Tomic is not hoping for a thaw in the cold war anytime soon.

For Fritz, it was a first career win at Roland Garros and backed up a solid season on European clay.

“It was kind of weird,” Fritz said. “In the first set, he hit some good shots but (didn’t) move, like, a lot.

“So I felt like if I kind of just worked the point, then I would win.

“And then the second set, I thought he started playing very well. For a couple games there we were in, like, a battle.”

“I got used to one way and then he started playing very tough, and so it kind of turned into a fight there,” he added.

“But I knew if I could get past that and break him and then serve out the set, then it would kind of go back to how it was before.”

The 21-year-old American, ranked 42, was a semi-finalist in Lyon last week, losing to eventual champion Benoit Paire.

He also qualified for the Madrid and Rome Masters before falling to Novak Djokovic and Kei Nishikori respectively.

The city is also special for the American — back in 2016, he proposed to his girlfriend Raquel Pedraza in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower. The two are now married with a son, Jordan.

— AFP