Celebrity Bernard Tomic out of the Open and into the jungle

Entrenched in the tennis wilderness, Bernard Tomic’s next public appearance could be in the jungle.

Bernard Tomic reacts against Lorenzo Sonego in the qualifying tournament for the Australian Open. Picture: AAP

Now entrenched in the tennis wilderness after failing to qualify for the Australian Open, it seems likely Bernard Tomic’s next public appearance will be the jungle in a questionable career move.

The one-time prodigy will be absent from his local major for the first time in a decade when play begins in Melbourne today, but it may yet prove a boon for his notoriety and bank account.

If locker room scuttlebutt is accurate, the 25-year-old will appear in a reality show in South Africa in coming weeks on the Ten Network.

A teaser from the network yesterday for I’m a Celebrity … Get me out of here! states a tennis star will be “at break point before they know it” on the show.

His appearance is not confirmed and he publicly denied it last week, but peers are not convinced.

Clearly he had little confidence in progressing far even if he had qualified for the Open, for it is understood contestants need to be on site from next week.

It was reported Tomic bragged he would receive $1 million for starring in the show, though the network has described the figure as vastly inflated and inaccurate while refusing to confirm his appearance.

Should it prove true, it will be further evidence the one-time world No 17 is treating his tennis career with less than the required dedication to deliver on his boyhood boasts that he would become one of the greatest players ever.

His lack of fitness was apparent in his 6-1 6-7 (5) 6-4 loss to Lorenzo Sonego yesterday, with the Australian struggling to get going early after surviving a testing marathon a day earlier against Tommy Paul.

Tomic again declined interview requests, with his only comment to television reporters similar to those which caused a storm at Wimbledon last year.

“I just count my money. That is all I do. I just count my millions,” he said.

“You go make $13-14 million. Good luck, guys.”

While the Australian was kitted out in Nike apparel and using racquets with prominent Head branding yesterday, it is understood the sponsorships which he lost as a result of his post-Wimbledon comments have not been restored.

The next two months are usually critical for the former Wimbledon semi-finalist given the tour swings to conditions he finds suitable, namely in the US either indoors or on hardcourt.

Not that the right-hander would necessarily be able to compete in events beginning with an ATP 250 tournament on Long Island in February given his slide into rankings oblivion, for he may not even be positioned high enough to compete in qualifying draws.

The Australian will drop further in the world rankings from his current position of 142 by virtue of failing to defend the points he earned last year in Melbourne when beaten by Dan Evans in the third round.

The free-spirited Evans is perhaps the only talent from last year’s Australian Open whose career is in worse shape than the Gold Coast party boy given the Brit is serving a suspension for a positive test to cocaine.

And it is doubtful the television set will have a court to practice on, let alone a hitting partner, as gifted as other athletes mooted to be heading to the jungle in Danny Green and Anthony Mundine are.

Tomic’s talent has not deserted him. His serve remains world-class. So, too, his backhand.

And he certainly showed great effort in qualifying after being denied a wildcard amid a feud with local officials.

But the loss to a player who had never previously played a grand slam tournament, despite striving with all his might, may yet prove a knockout to his career to match those Green and Mundine are capable of delivering.