Bernard Tomic didn’t want to be the bad guy who ended Andy Roddick’s career, so he dutifully got wiped in the second round of the US Open by the American 6-3, 6-4, 6-0 on Friday.
Tomic hardly put up a fight in the final set, winning just five points and lasting only 22 minutes. His poor showing prompted commentator John McEnroe to accuse him of tanking.
“Tomic is teeing it up. It looks like the tank job,” McEnroe said, according to the Sydney Morning Herald. “This is a shame. You don’t like to see this. I like to see Andy win but, other than that, it’s poor.”
Tomic’s effort in the final set was questioned by a reporter after the match, who brought up McEnroe’s commentary. Tomic did not react kindly to the questions:
“That’s how I play. Do you have a problem with that?” he angrily questioned the reporter.
The whole exchange was pretty tense, and Tomic seemed petty for asking for the reporter’s name and affiliation.
The 19-year-old Australian insisted his poor showing was not because he was tanking, but because he was nervous.
“I was a bit nervous the first set. It’s very difficult the first time to be in front of 22,000 people,” Tomic said. “It’s very different. A different feeling playing on the back courts than playing on the biggest stage in the world, biggest country in the world. I wasn’t looking up, that’s for sure. More I looked up, the more I realised how much people were there.”
Tomic also explained that Roddick’s serve was on, which made it extremely difficult to break.
We can’t say we’re surprised by his immature reaction. Tomic is the same kid who had his father removed from a match, and the same kid who’s had multiple driving incidents. He really just needs to grow up.
H/T Bryan A. Graham
