He might only be No 46 in the world but Australian tennis player Bernard Tomic has been making a name for himself – and not always for the right reasons.
Like his footballing equivalent Mario Balotelli, the 20-year-old has burgeoning talent which more often than not becomes muddied by controversy.
During his Junior career he often claimed that he would become tennis’ World No 1. He still has plenty of time to achieve that landmark but he needs to write that script on court rather than in the papers.
2013 has started off quite well for Tomic with a first ever ATP singles title and last night he faced one of the biggest tests of his career when he played the great Roger Federer in the third round of the Australian Open. Unsurprisingly he lost.
The Swiss maestro may personify grace and dignity these days but he was a self-confessed “hot-head” in his youth and Tomic could learn a thing or two from him…
This time last year, Tomic was getting himself in trouble with the law. The youngster performed something of a “triple-fault” in his high-powered sportscar when Aussie police issued him with three traffic infringements within the same day.
Tomic even claimed that one of the policemen wanted to hit him as he was slapped with a 300 Australian dollar penalty.
Someone did hit him in October when video footage seemed to show him involved in a brawl as he celebrated his 20th birthday. Officers had to be called to the incident in the early hours, as Tomic allegedly got into a fight with a friend in a rooftop Jacuzzi.
The incident was splashed across the Australian media but it seems it was blown out of proportion as it subsequently appeared to be a playful wrestle.
But one clash that wasn’t blown out of proportion, was an incident between Tomic and his father at the 2012 Miami Masters back in March. Video footage caught the young star asking the umpire to have his father – who is also his tennis coach – removed from the stadium for being “annoying”.
Tomic Jr was heard saying: “''He's annoying me, I know he's my father but he's annoying me. I want him to leave but how is this possible?'' after his Tomic Sr shook his head and made comments from the stand in response to his son’s errors.
Unprofessionalism
Tomic’s troublesome streak has also seen him dropped from Australia’s Davis Cup team – a decision made by captain Pat Rafter in response to alleged unprofessionalism.
Tomic's response was to cut all ties with the two-time Wimbledon finalist and to withdraw himself indefinitely from Davis Cup service.
Rafter had branded the youngster a “disgrace” for a perceived lack of effort during his US Open second round defeat to Andy Roddick.
John McEnroe also believed that the youngster had given up easily during the commentary to that match when he accused Tomic of “tanking” - which is how the 20-year-old earned the dubious moniker of “Tomic the Tank Engine”.
2013 has started off quite well for the German-born player and “Tomic the Tank Engine” will hold out hope that he can stay on the right track. But the defeat to Federer does not signal the end of the line, if he can keep himself out of trouble in the future.
