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Tomic loses to Johnson but puts on a show at Citi Open
26 Comments · Posted by Scoop Malinowski in Bios
Bernard Tonic won the first set vs. Steve Johnson 76. He lost the second 46. I arrived to the theater of Tonic at 21 Johnson in the third. there was an odd feel to the match as Tonic was playing strangely relaxed. Things were about to get really weird.
In the 20 game Tonic tried overrule a Johnson shot called long at 30-love. He wanted Johnson to take the point but Johnson wouldn’t bite. Tonic held 12.
The next game was a Johnson hold 31 which included Tomic thanking a fan for verbal supportby saying Thanks bro. Then we entered the Twilight Zone. Tonic served a marathon game. Johnson hit four return winners on game points, which prokoed Bernie to quip… If you do that one more time I stop playing. Laughter ensued. j
Johnson, as serious as serious can be, hit another return winner. And then another. Tonic must have saved eight or more breakpoints in this game. He even asked the chair ump if he set the deuce record and how many deuces it was. The ump did not know the ATP deuce record off the top of his head so Tonic requested he look it up after the match.
After even more deuces Tonic told the ump… I think its record, I play for the record. Johnson, deadly serious, was fuming at all of Tonics shenanigans, especially after he saw Tonic hit cross court forehand slice winner to finally close the marathon game out.
Tonic seemed be toying and tanking with Johnson who then proceeded to wnin the last three games for 63.
Tomic won over a lot of fans with his very entertaining performance today but Johnson advances to meet Dimitrov or Pella in third round.
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Dan Markowitz · August 5, 2015 at 8:47 pm
Do you mean to call Tomic “Tonic” or is it a misspelling? Tomic does give the impression sometimes that he doesn’t really care about whether he wins or loses. He’s like a very stiff Monfils, but he does have crazy racquet skills. I remember talking to Peers in Indian Wells and he said Tomic doesn’t have to be fast because he reacts so quickly and perceptively to balls. He’s moving in the direction of the shot before the ball’s hit, Peers said. But Bernie just isn’t very good and I think he knows now that he’s worked as hard as he’s going to work, and he sees the writing on the wall, that he doesn’t have the game to win big, so he’s just having fun out there.
Scoop Malinowski · August 5, 2015 at 10:00 pm
Could be a good assessment Dan, Tonic has some odd athleticism, very unique, kind of like vitality Klitschko’s in boxing, hall of fame trainer Emanuel Steward told me he had the strange ability to sense a punch coming and lean from it as it or before it came, then launching his counter punch. And yes, my tablet changed my correct spelling of to m ic to tonic. You can edit if you want to ☺
Thomas Tung · August 5, 2015 at 11:45 pm
Bernie has a lot of natural talent for tennis (nowhere near Rios levels, more of a one-level-lower-than Nalbandian-type thinker) but the head is the key factor. You’re not gonna see Tomic putting in Ferrer-level mental toughness out there on the court 24/7, or even 3 days out of a week. That alone, bar some miracles (or a major wake-up), will keep Tomic away from the Top 10. I say all this, and I actually like Bernie; thought he had a bright future at the pro level even as I watched him go down to American Devin Britton in the 2008 US Open junior’s event.
Dan Markowitz · August 6, 2015 at 2:40 am
Oh, there’s a name, Devin Britton, former NCAA champ. Talk about flame out.
How about Gabashivili, the Georgian, with the huge upset of Murray. Here’s where you have to be a tad suspicious. Did Murray score a huge appearance fee here? Or are you now allowed to receive an af if its a 500 tournament?
Anyway, watching that match, you can see two things: why Murray will probably never win another slam (his second serve is lame and the guy never ever comes to net willingly) and if Gabashivili can tattoo the ball like every match, why isn’t this guy Top 10?
Dan Markowitz · August 6, 2015 at 2:48 am
How about the young Zverev knocking off Anderson. Courier said on Tennis Channel tonight during the Murray match that Andy Roddick hasn’t been as excited about a young player in the past decade as he has about the young German. Man, he is good.
How long will Bjorkman stay as Murray’s coach? The Scot was absolutely chatting a novel tonight in between points. I mean the Swede look chastened. It was shades of Brad Gilbert when he coached Murray. Not that Muzz called out Bjorkman like he did Gilbert in Cincy, but it was in stark contrast to how Lendl muzzled Muzz.
Gaurang · August 6, 2015 at 2:53 am
I didnt watch the Gabash vs Murray match, but watched the highlights. My God!! What an awesome performance by Gabash!! I thought the court appeared extremely fast, and Gabash was able to take advantage by blasting rocket winners to both the wings of the court, with Murray having no chance to retrieve those balls. Murray seemed helpless with the constant barrage of winners. It didnt seem to me that Murray played bad, its just the Gabash took better advantage of the court conditions. I dont think this was a tank.
But on the other hand, Murray should be happy to loose this. If he went deep here, then it could have affected his performance in the back-to-back Masters tournaments coming up next week.
Scoop Malinowski · August 6, 2015 at 10:11 am
Definitely not TT tonic will never be mistaken for Ferrer. Though he may be more suited for the senior tour with his hit n giggle antics. I can’t see Hewitt or anyone changing Bernis drumbeat or wiring.
Dan Markowitz · August 6, 2015 at 12:07 pm
Geez, the Muller-Gasquet match that started around midnight last night probably, had so few people watching it was ridiculous.
Scoop, is it really so hot in D.C. in the summer these days that they can’t start the tournament at 11 am instead of 4 pm?
Big match for Sock today vs. Richie One-Hander. He’s got to win this match to show that he has any legs for a big summer in the next 3 big events.
Scoop Malinowski · August 6, 2015 at 1:31 pm
I saw Zverev walk out to grandstand for Anderson match with tour security and the kid was chatting away with the adult, no worries, so loose. Usually players are dead serious poker faces, Zverev looks special. In many ways. Also yesterday I saw Fish working with Ryan Harrison and he seemed to coaching, saying advice’s like you can that fh earlier, and you could have hit that fh winner five shots earlier.
Dan Markowitz · August 6, 2015 at 1:54 pm
Interesting with Fish and Harry, because Annacone on TC was saying pretty much the same thing after Harry went down to Duckworth. He has this big forehand, now he’s got to use it. He plays more rally forehands than he does big hits like Gabashivili was doing last night to Murray. Funny, though, Fish coaching the forehand. That was never his best shot.
To Harry’s credit, he has a monster serve. I just think he’s not psychologically suited to be a big time player. There’s too much scar tissue in his brain. I’d like to be proven wrong, but that’s what I see. I’m really surprised he’s withdrawn into such a passive style of play.
Scoop Malinowski · August 6, 2015 at 2:54 pm
Lost confidence and repeated losses will do that to a young player.it will take a smart crafty player to snap harry out of his malaise, maybe just maybe Fish is the man to do it. f
Fish was an elite player and he has a lot of wisdom to offer.
Moskova Moskova · August 6, 2015 at 4:10 pm
Dan, good assesment of your harry..
GABA’s gona gave a break out tournament finally !!….after knocking out an albeit subdued murray..
BEECHKOONNA !!
Scoop Malinowski · August 6, 2015 at 5:30 pm
Gabashvili vs Berankis for spot in quarters vs isner or pop. McHale just beat putintseva 75 in third, wacky match as expected. Put down 62 10 breaks in long game then romps to win set six games in a row then races to 30. But then McHale awakens, at 65 McHale puti has 40 love but doubles faults twice then misses on next 3 pts. Match over.
Scoop Malinowski · August 6, 2015 at 5:46 pm
Guarang, I didn’t s3 match but Russian journo here said Gabashvili played 3 levels above his normal.
Dan Markowitz · August 6, 2015 at 7:50 pm
Qball is is a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma. The guy definitely has world class skills, but when it comes down to a second set breaker against Cilic, he goes down ever so meekly 7-2. He hires a coach from Las Vegas where he lives that apparently was just a club pro. It’s like his career is not all that important to him, but then maybe I’m over-estimating him, and being ranked in the Top 50 for Qball is quite impressive.
Scoop Malinowski · August 6, 2015 at 8:46 pm
Qball is a throwback from the tilden era, the gentility of a bygone time. Tennis is now such a brutish and violent sport yet qball is still a solid successful pro. The bad part of Sam is he can choke at anytime.
Scoop Malinowski · August 6, 2015 at 8:50 pm
Zverev looked sensational handling dolgopolov with bencic and mladenovic cheering him on from front row. z lost first set but withstood dogs dazzle and razzle. I say the big breakout by z man is coming soon. He can do it all.
Moskova Moskova · August 7, 2015 at 9:38 am
sock doesnt suck….well atleast not as bad.
GABA right back out…PEDS must have worn off.
gasquet’s still oh-so-fragile.
dimi must be the most over-rated player of current times.
Scoop Malinowski · August 7, 2015 at 9:55 am
I was at Berankis Gabashvili and the Lil Lithuanian was just better. We knew TG would have the inevitable letdown, mm.
Moskova Moskova · August 7, 2015 at 11:10 am
how about thiem vs. kohlschreiber…..should be sensational !!
pick kohlly in 3
bjk · August 7, 2015 at 11:23 am
We were at different matches Scoop, I was in the grandstand watching Groth and Johnson beat much more talented opponents. I’ve figured out what Dimitrov’s problem is. At 15-30 serving at 2-3 in the third he missed an easy forehand approach shot to Johnson’s backhand. Johnson can’t hit a backhand passing shot so all he had to do – at 15-30 in the third! – is GET IT IN. He overcooked it and that was the match. I think he served about 85mph in his last serving game, he really just tanked after that. Dimitrov needs Gilbert to show him how to win ugly and play percentage tennis. Johnson on the other hand is a fierce competitor who was throwing his racket and doing whatever it took to win. Groth also made a between the legs shot which is amazing for a guy who has the body of an NFL defensive lineman. He is really a marvel, I don’t care if he’s juicing he’s still an incredible athlete. The torque he gets on his service motion is remarkable.
Otherwise the apathy of the crowds was disappointing. Incredible lineup last night (Isner, Sock, Johnson, Querrey, Gasquet, Pospisil) and no energy in the crowd. I don’t know what they need to do, but the fans aren’t responding to the new generation. Maybe more matches at 6 and not at midnight.
Moskova Moskova · August 7, 2015 at 12:12 pm
bjk, groth’s gotta be juicing..
Moskova Moskova · August 7, 2015 at 12:15 pm
btw, did you guys ever hear that nadal was busted for doping a few years ago and was subsequently covered up by the ATP via his injury layoff, etc. ??
do ATP players juice ?
why not ?….it’s rampant in all other sports..
thoughts / comments pls ?
Dan Markowitz · August 7, 2015 at 3:25 pm
Where did you hear Nadal was busted for doping a few years ago and ATP let him off the hook? Obviously, no one has reported anything of the kind so where did you hear it?
Look, Sock is a fun player to watch, but Izzie and Qball, fans have never really responded to those guys. Groth is having a pretty bad year so if he’s juicing, it’s not helping a whole lot.
Moskova Moskova · August 7, 2015 at 3:58 pm
yes, it is hearsay…but from another european tennis blog where someone that knows someone in nadal’s camp..
sock’s gotta mean serve / FH combo…just needs to use it more frequently and effectively..
Scoop Malinowski · August 7, 2015 at 6:25 pm
I really believe in Sock, what a super impressive performance vs Gasquet, he o-utsmarted, outplayed and outhit a top fifteen player in Gasquet, he outwilled Gasquet. Masterful win, beating up the backhand and then rifling that forehand up the line. This was the kind of win that will send shockwaves into the ATP top 20 and 10. Beware of Big Jack.