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Is Bernard Tomic the most normal, honest man in pro tennis?
89 Comments · Posted by Scoop Malinowski in Scoop
Watch this video interview two weeks ago with Bernard Tomic and ask yourself if you have ever seen a more normal, sane, honest, regular young man in professional tennis?
Tomic has taken a lot of heat for his extreme honesty about his confidence issues and career frustrations. No other player has ever confessed he doesn’t feel good enough to win Grand Slams and that sometimes he loses interest and struggles to compete to the best of his ability.
Isn’t that human? Where is the media compassion for this man for admitting his frailties?
Like he tells the interviewer about his partying lifestyle, most people would do the same thing if they were young and rich.
Watching this interview, Tomic strikes me as the most authentic, likable, honest, straight-forward man in not only tennis but pro sports.
I just want to put it on the record that while so many people in the media and in the sport of tennis ridicule, condemn, mock and insult Bernard Tomic, I fully support and respect his brave honesty to speak his mind, his truth. It takes a lot of guts and courage to do that.
As Jim Brown once said, “Most people are afraid to tell the truth.”
We at tennis-prose are in your corner Bernard, if by chance he happens to read this. We appreciate and respect you for telling us the truth and not bullshitting us with cliches and company lines. In some ways, you have more guts that anyone else in tennis. High respect.
AO · Bernard Tomic · Bernie · Tomic
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« Previous 1 2Hartt · February 9, 2019 at 11:58 am
Canada just won the first 2 matches in the Fed Cup tie vs the Netherlands. Bianca Andreescu was higher ranked than Hogenkamp, but Francoise Abanda is about 100 spots lower in the rankings than Rus. Bianca had a fairly straightforward win – she played very well. But Abanda’s match was a long, tough one, the momentum kept shifting between the two players. So she did well to prevail in the end.
catherine · February 9, 2019 at 1:23 pm
Good effort by the Canadians – I noticed Bouchard failed to qualify for Doha – wonder if she turned down Fed Cup or wasn’t invited ? It’s a difficult spot in the calendar just before an important tournament.
Belarus look as though they will send Germany packing – Petko heading a weak team lacking Kerber and Georges. Sabalenka very impressive v Andrea. Aryna in full flow is one of the best sights in tennis – I only hope she doesn’t turn out to be one of those players who look good when they can bulldoze the opposition but get tangled up against softer tacticians.
I can see Bianca doing very well this year.
Hartt · February 9, 2019 at 1:29 pm
I imagine Genie was invited to play on the Fed Cup team, she was crucial to their victory last spring, even playing with an injury she sustained in her first match.
But she must be focused on trying to get her ranking up. It’s too bad about the Doha qualies.
As you know, I am a big Andreescu fan, and she was very impressive today, winning the match 6-4, 6-1. She has good variety and as the commies said, she moves well and generally is composed on the court.
Wayne Bradford · February 9, 2019 at 3:03 pm
Tomic draws Lacko in the first round of the NY Open and the winner will face Isner. You now its a weak field when the top three seeds are Americans!
Hartt · February 9, 2019 at 3:11 pm
Pierre-Hugues Herbert had a pretty easy win over Berdych and will Play Tsonga in the Montpellier final. French fans must be ecstatic to have 2 of their guys in the final. I like Herbert, and am glad to see him having success in singles as well as doubles. But I will never get used to his crazy service motion, both the rocking and the way he takes his racquet back so far, any more and it would scrape the court!
catherine · February 9, 2019 at 8:20 pm
Looks like Laura Robson is moving into commentary – she was at the mike for the Brit Fed Cup ties in Bath.
Scoop Malinowski · February 9, 2019 at 8:49 pm
Robson was so good at 15, looked like a big time prospect but it didn’t happen. Peaked too early I guess. Never could upgrade her big flaw, slow, inefficient movement. But she had some good wins at 15 I remember. Tennis is a cruel business. Really thought she could have become a Kvitova type player. Similar games. Wonder how her work ethic was? If her early success negatively impacted her work ethic or put too much pressure on her.
catherine · February 10, 2019 at 2:21 am
Scoop – I think it was a mixture with Laura: her slow movement, early publicity and pressure and the work ethic. One of her coaches departed early on, saying that Laura lacked a mature approach to training etc – and did not have a realistic grasp of the work involved if she wanted to become a top player.
Sort of sad story in a way – I’m sure she had great ambitions once. Seems to have given up playing now but maybe a career in the commentary box is opening up for her.
catherine · February 10, 2019 at 2:35 am
‘Danielle Collins believes she is the world’s greatest tennis player’. Quote of the day.
Love to be a fly on the wall in the dressing room whenever Danielle’s flouncing around. Me, I’m heating up the wax for my Collins doll and polishing the pins which I’ll be sticking in it 🙂
catherine · February 10, 2019 at 2:39 am
And no, that’s not because she beat Angelique. It’s because she lacks humility – a quality you’ll find in truly great champions.
Scoop Malinowski · February 10, 2019 at 7:29 am
Catherine, she had an agent and endorsement deals at 10 and 11. Too early. Way too early to start feeling that pressure.
Scoop Malinowski · February 10, 2019 at 7:43 am
Danielle Collins has the right attitude and mindset. You gotta believe, as Tug McGraw said. And remember, It’s the crazy ones who change the world.
Scoop Malinowski · February 10, 2019 at 7:44 am
Catherine, all the great champions thought like Collins at first. They had the dream and the belief to get there, it didn’t just happen. Humility gets you nowhere in this world.
Hartt · February 10, 2019 at 7:58 am
Bianca Andreescu had an easy win over Rus to win the Fed Cup tie for Canada over the Netherlands. The poor lamb has to play in the dead doubles rubber now, along with Dabrowski. It is a good thing she has an 18-year-old’s energy.
As the commies said, 2019 has been a year of firsts for Bianca (and it’s only February). First time in top 100, first WTA Challenger title, first main draw Slam match win. And add the wins she had over Woz and Venus in Auckland.
Bianca is fun to watch because she has variety, she does not just bash the ball from the baseline. She has power (at just 5’5″) and she is an aggressive player. But she will mix in a slice, a loopy ball, a fabulous drop shot, and knows how to finish points at the net. She moves very well, and has a good fighting spirit. Barring injury, I think she will be a top player in the future.
Hartt · February 10, 2019 at 8:15 am
They were sensible and substituted Rebecca Marino for Bianca in the doubles. The Netherlands has a very strong doubles team and would be the favourites for this match.
catherine · February 10, 2019 at 9:57 am
Scoop – ‘humility’ is a virtue – that you have this enormous talent and you have a duty to make the most of it. It’s a gift, not to be thrown away or brazenly boasted about. Respected, or if you’re religious, God-given.
Laver, Rosewall, Federer, Nadal, Djokovic, BJK,Martina, Steffi, Evert, Serena – I could go on. Self-belief, confidence – but I never heard or read any of those bragging.
Agreed, BJK was often overbearing on court but in private she was quite different.
When Collins has several GSs and is No 1 I’ll recognise her as a great player – although it’ll stick in my throat.
For now – empty vessels make the most noise.
catherine · February 10, 2019 at 10:12 am
Fed Cup – Sabalenka leads Belarus past Germany and Caroline Garcia makes up for a mediocre start to the year by giving France the tie over Belgium. Good to see the French a team again. Cornet on best behaviour.
Has Belarus any good male players ?
Petko was generous in defeat: ‘She (Aryna) outplayed me in every aspect of the game.’
Hartt · February 10, 2019 at 10:41 am
It sounds like it was a good match between Halep and Ka Pliskova, with Simona winning in the end. My stream froze – it was like Groundhog Day, it kept showing the same thing over and over and over. Anyway, the Romanian guy on Match Call Migrants did a match call, so I could follow it while watching the Fed Cup doubles between Canada and the Netherlands.
Much to my surprise, Canada won the doubles over a very good Dutch team that has Schuurs, the No. 7 player in doubles. Rebecca Marino was the weak link, not having played much doubles recently. But she improved as the match went on, and actually hit the winning shot, a sharp volley. And of course, Gabriela Dabrowski is a skilled doubles player, currently ranked No. 10.
So Canada won all 4 matches, and will play in April to try to get a spot in World Group I. The team has a good mix of young players with Bianca and Francoise, and older ones in Gaby and Rebecca. Rebecca should improve as she gains more experience after her long break from tennis. So things are looking good for Canada.
This tie reminded me of how much fun home and away ties are, although I did feel a bit sorry for the Dutch fans. The small group of Canadian fans made a lot of noise, and they had a lot to celebrate.
Hartt · February 10, 2019 at 10:47 am
Regarding bragging vs humility, I can accept bragging more when a player has had some terrific results, such as winning a Slam, or some Masters or at least Premier5 tourneys. I may not like it, but at least the player has something to back up the boasting. But when they think they are the best thing since sliced bread before they have had big results, it is hard to take.
Confidence and self-belief is one thing, big boasting is another thing altogether.
Chazz · February 10, 2019 at 12:42 pm
Mind citing the Collins quote? Only thing I could find was this is from an ESPN article a few weeks ago, which is completely harmless:
“She believes she deserves to be on this stage and expects to win her matches no matter how deeply into the draw they take place.”
catherine · February 10, 2019 at 1:28 pm
Chazz –
Tennis.com – it’s still there. Not a direct quote but is presented as something Collins believes is true. It’s not backed up by her results or ranking needless to say.
Hartt · February 10, 2019 at 3:45 pm
Romania just beat the Czechs and will go to their first Fed Cup SFs. Beating the Czechs at home has to be one of the toughest things in women’s tennis. Begu and Niculescu had to win against the No. 1 doubles team in a long, tough match that lasted nearly 3 hours. The Romanian fans there were super loud, and the women said that helped them get the win.
The Czechs have dominated Fed Cup for so long it is actually nice to see another country in the mix. Romania will play the French team in France.
Scoop Malinowski · February 10, 2019 at 5:15 pm
Catherine, on court humility is a handicap. The player must be arrogant and cocky inside, he or she must believe they are the best. You can’t walk up to that line at 5-all 30 all and say to yourself, “I’m humble and I’m gonna try my best here.” Gotta say “I’m the man, the boss, the king of this court and this is my domain. I’m taking over this place right now.”
You can’t say, Oh my God, I’m scared. If I lose this point the set is likely over. You gotta say, “Cmoonnn, let’s go. I’m gona show you who is the kingpin.”
catherine · February 11, 2019 at 1:26 am
Scoop – of course on court humility isn’t going to work. That wasn’t what I was talking about. Tennis is competitive.It’s the stuff Collins says off-court which is irritating, boastful and unnecessary.
And BTW I was interested to see that the ‘world’s greatest tennis player’ took 3 sets to beat Dsria Gavrilova in the Fed Cup yesterday. Daria isn’t having a terrific year and is ranked below Danielle so I would have expected a cakewalk 🙂
catherine · February 11, 2019 at 1:51 am
Hartt – the Czech era of dominance is coming to an end it seems. Without Petra playing I felt Roumania had a good chance to win. And there don’t seem to be any really good young Czech players on the way up. Same with Germany. A very ordinary team lacking Kerber and Georges. And again, no young players on the horizon. And what happened to Italy ? Remember their great Fed Cup teams ?
But as you say, it’s better to have a more level playing field. The US won for years and years and that wasn’t very interesting.
I’m surprised Australia is so weak in women’s tennis – Barty is the only really world class player at the moment.
catherine · February 11, 2019 at 1:59 am
Of course having said that Australia won the doubles and the tie. So a great effort from Barty and the whole Oz team. (I support Australia in tennis and cricket.)
Chazz · February 11, 2019 at 8:17 am
Catherine, that article headline was what is called clickbait. Nowhere did she say she thinks she’s the greatest player in the world. But I’ll let you believe it, since you want to add to your unhealthy hatred.
Hartt · February 11, 2019 at 8:18 am
I was rooting for Australia in that Fed Cup tie as well. Barty is such an impressive young player.
Scoop Malinowski · February 11, 2019 at 8:39 am
Catherine, all that Collins says are answers to questions she’s asked. Give her credit for honesty and authenticity, instead of giving robot scripted cliche answers. What an incredible win for her vs Gavrilova, she was down 2-1 and 15-40 in the third set and managed to turn it around with her extraordinary fighting spirit. She was looking dead and Gavrilova was on fire and in control but Collins has that special x factor, that special fighting spirit that she can come back from the dead. Her extraordinary self belief is the key.
Scoop Malinowski · February 11, 2019 at 8:41 am
Barty was the anchor but Priscilla Hon contributed mightily to the cause. As the least accomplished player on the court, Hon was not the weak link and got the job done. Maybe this kind of win can jump start her stagnated career which has lacked any mighlight moments until yesterday. Barty is going to win a singles major.
catherine · February 11, 2019 at 9:39 am
Chazz- that quote was in the article because it was a reasonable statement of how Collins feels about herself. It’s based on things she has said. Complain to the site editor, not to me.
Collins is a good player but she’s not nearly as great as she seems to think she is. Time will tell I suppose.
I resent your comment about my ‘unhealthy hatred’. I have no such thing. I couldn’t be bothered having feelings like that about a tennis player. I’m not a demented fan. I just happen to think it’s more respectful of your opponents not to come out with this stuff. And it’s setting yourself up as a target as well.
Scoop – players give scripted answers because they don’t want to reveal too much of themselves, which is only sensible. Watch Danielle Collins, if she stays around a while, adapt herself to that model too. I’d bet on it.
Scoop Malinowski · February 11, 2019 at 12:18 pm
But Collins is trying to establish herself and she’s not where she feels she can be – the top of the mountain. When she gets there she will surely blow her trumpet less loudly. But for now she has ever right to blow her trumpet and to declare her intentions to her rivals, enemies and fellow competitors. There are only less then two dozen players on the planet that can play better tennis than her right now. her ranking is 23 so she has earned the right to speak her mind. What a wonderful example of self belief, determination, setting a goal and going after it.
Hartt · February 11, 2019 at 12:56 pm
People are now taking notice of 18-year-old Bianca Andreescu. The Dutch Fed captain said he was not surprised at her level of play, and that she would have been a tough opponent even for Bertens (who did not take part in the tie).
“When a hypothetical Andreescu – Bertens clash was suggested to Haarhuis, he replied, “I think Kiki would have her hands full with this girl because…she’s ranked No. 70 now but by the end of the year she’s more likely to be top-20.” (Tennis Canada site)
When told of this prediction, Bianca said she has not set new goals for this season, having reached her original goal of making the main draw for RG. She thought the top 50 would be a reasonable goal for now.
Her coach, Sylvain Bruneau, said other coaches often approach him after matches to talk about how impressed they are with Bianca, especially since she is just 18.
Bianca also said the WTA has her height wrong, she is actually 5’7” but the WTA has not corrected this yet.
Chazz · February 11, 2019 at 1:03 pm
Lol Catherine, I thought you said a few weeks ago you wouldn’t say a word again about Collins? A Collins doll to stick pins into? Maybe you’re joking…maybe you’re not. Might be more believable than a clickbait headline with no quote anywhere.
catherine · February 11, 2019 at 3:16 pm
Well Chazz, I might have said that about Collins a few weeks ago(I’m amazed you remembered) but I lied. Times change and it helps to be flexible in our troubled world.
I’ve mentally stuck pins into lots of dolls. Doesn’t always work although I’ve had some surprising results. Possibly a joke. (Good wax is hard to come by these days.)
What was the clickbait all about then ? Tennis.com isn’t what it used to be and I seldom go there but I can’t otherwise see the point of that article if it was all made up. Maybe most of it was.
Scoop Malinowski · February 11, 2019 at 3:33 pm
Is Andreescu still working with Nathalie Tauziat? She was with her full time when she was just 14 or 15. That’s a major move for such a young girl, to work with a former wta top ten star.
Scoop Malinowski · February 11, 2019 at 3:36 pm
It’s okay for Catherine to talk about Collins, Collins is arguably the hottest player in the WTA over the last 12 months outside Osaka. She has skyrocketed up the rankings from 130s to 23 now. That is a monumental leap in the span of a year. And she is far from finished. I think she can go all the way to the top. She has the physicality, the mind, the fighting spirit, the drive and the game. She is a more complete person than the other players who are all mostly tennis machines. Did you know Collins even has her own jewelry business? She creates jewelry.
Hartt · February 11, 2019 at 4:02 pm
Bianca has not worked with Tauziat for a year or two now. It was an indication of how much promise Tennis Canada thought the youngster had when they assigned such a top coach to her and did not insist that she move to Montreal to train at the National Training Centre.
Interestingly, Tauziat was a coach for the Fed Cup team, so she must still have a working relationship with Tennis Canada. Perhaps she is working with some of the younger players.
Scoop Malinowski · February 11, 2019 at 6:46 pm
Tauziat was really impressive as a player in her day, but she was kind of like Dimitrov, in the shadows of Graf, Seles, Sanchez Vicario. She was a great player, an offensive attack player who made a Wimbledon final. She was very nice to interview at Eddie Herr and she struck me as an excellent coach mentor.