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Players have rallied around Bernard Tomic after the Australian was fined his entire first-round prize money of more than $80,000 by Wimbledon officials for not playing up to the "required professional standards" in his listless first-round defeat.
Key points:
- Bernard Tomic lost to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in just 58 minutes in their first-round match
- Tomic admitted he "played pretty bad" in the straight-sets defeat to Tsonga
- He has been fined before at Wimbledon following a loss in the 2017 tournament
Tomic lost 6-2 6-1 6-4 to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in just 58 minutes on Tuesday (local time), the shortest men's singles match at the All England Club in 15 years.
"It is the opinion of the referee that the performance of Bernard Tomic in his first-round match against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga did not meet the required professional standards, and therefore he has been fined the maximum amount of 45,000 pounds, which will be deducted from prize money," Wimbledon officials said in a statement.
His fine, which equates to $80,601, is the same amount of prize money singles players get for losing in the first round. It is believed his latest fine is the biggest ever for an on-court offence.
Spectators looked bemused as Tomic, the world number 96, lost to Tsonga in under an hour, a performance described as "appalling" and "embarrassing" on social media.
"Yeah, I mean, I played pretty bad," Tomic said in his post-match media conference.
"I just played terrible."
Asked during the media conference if he thought he might be fined, Tomic replied: "What for?"
He was also asked if he had given his best effort, to which he said: "Next question, please".
Having dismissed accusations that he did not try, Tomic is expected to appeal, a stance that is supported by Tsonga.
Frenchman Tsonga said that his opponent had "of course" fallen victim to his reputation, having been fined in the past for questionable performances.
"That's touchy because they will do that with him and not with others, and I think it's a little bit too much," Tsonga said.
A former Australian Open runner-up and five-time grand slam semi-finalist who has twice reached the last four at Wimbledon, Tsonga also believes the fine discredits his victory, during which he hammered 21 aces in 12 service games.
"I will say it's also, for me, it's like what I did was not win," Tsonga said.
"It's like me was just here and I just won because they said he didn't play enough."
Nick Kyrgios said he didn't agree with "fining the guy all of his prize money".
"He earned his right to be in the draw. He played the whole year. He's obviously winning enough to be at the most prestigious tournament in the world. To take all his prize money I think is outrageous," he said.
"I just hope Bernard is all right."
'Not the most intense player'
John Millman also weighed in, saying his countryman deserved the benefit of the doubt and that it was difficult to prove a player was not trying.
"Bernard, at times, when you look at him play — and I played him in Estoril — he's not the most intense player," Millman said.
"We're kind of polar opposites. Some people probably say I'm kind of over-intense on court.
"And some people function better when they actually keep a bit of a low intensity.
"I'm not sure of the ins and outs — what I will say is that I think it's really hard to gauge, to make a judgement call like that."
Tomic was also fined more than $20,000 at Wimbledon in 2017 and dropped by his racquet sponsor for saying during a media conference that he was "a little bit bored out there" after losing to Mischa Zverev in the first round.
Tomic's latest brush with officials adds to a series of questionable performances across the 26-year-old's more than decade-long professional career.
He was nicknamed "Tomic the Tank Engine" after accusations he "tanked" — failed to try his best — in a loss to Andy Roddick at the 2012 US Open.
The Australian also broke the record for the fastest loss at a Masters-level tournament on the ATP Tour after being beaten 6-0, 6-1 in 28 minutes by Finn Jarkko Nieminen in Miami in 2014.
Tomic also faced a match point while holding his racket backwards in a defeat by Fabio Fognini at the 2016 Madrid Open.
Tomic fine adds to controversial 2019
Tomic's fine comes almost six months after his public spat with Lleyton Hewitt, which dominated headlines in the first week of the Australian Open.
He lashed out at Hewitt in his media conference after his first-round loss in Melbourne, calling on his former teammate to step down as Davis Cup captain.
Hewitt responded by saying Tomic would not play Davis Cup under his captaincy, while accusing him of "blackmail" and making "physical" threats towards him and his family.
Tennis Australia (TA) later accused Tomic of deliberately trying to sabotage Australia's tennis culture in the wake of his public criticism of Hewitt, stating he would remain an outcast in the Davis Cup and wider Australian tennis community,
"Lleyton is right to say Bernard will not be considered for Davis Cup," TA chief executive Craig Tiley said in a statement in February.
"Bernard does not meet the standards of behaviour and commitment to himself, the team or the sport.
"Now, he is deliberately trying to damage that culture, and not for the first time."
ABC/AAP
Topics: tennis, sport, united-kingdom, england
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