Daily Times

PARIS: Bernard Tomic admitted his idols “were not in tennis” after bowing out of the French Open with a 6-1 6-4 6-1 thrashing at the hands of American Taylor Fritz on Tuesday. The Australian, ranked 84th in the world, looked barely interested at times, hardly bothering to move for some Fritz serves, and lasted only 82 minutes. In a terse press conference later he was asked whether any of the Australian greats such as Rod Laver, Ken Rosewall or Tony Roche had been inspirations for his chequered career. “Hardly any because I didn’t watch them,” the 26-year-old, who has had numerous run-ins with tennis authorities, said. When pressed, he added: “Oh, yeah. My idols are not in tennis. Don’t worry.” Tomic said he was “bored” with tennis in 2017 and is involved in a dispute with Tennis Australia after denying accusations that he made threats to Davis Cup captain Lleyton Hewitt and his family. Asked what was next in a career that once appeared to be heading for the top, Tomic admitted he had “no clue”.