After playing in Rwanda and Kazakhstan, Bernard Tomic returned to Sydney. He lasted 35 minutes

3 months ago 6

Bernard Tomic returned, albeit briefly, to Sydney on Tuesday.

It was the latest stop in a tennis odyssey that has this year taken him to some of the world’s most unlikely outposts, including India, Rwanda, Tunisia, Mexico, Colombia and Kazakhstan.

Bernard Tomic’s appearance at the NSW Open was a brief one.

The latest destination in his quest for rankings points was the NSW Open at Homebush. Tomic arrived with a bung left leg and a world ranking of 182, a long way from his peak of No.17 – and nadir of No.825.

This was the scene of one of his greater triumphs, a 2013 Apia International title, when both he and the event were a bigger deal. But at least here, unlike in some of the far-flung tournaments in which he has competed this season, he didn’t have to pick up his own balls when he served them into the net.

When he arrived on court two to face Japan’s Hayato Matsuoka, after compatriot James Duckworth had made short work of his first-round opponent moments earlier, there were 19 spectators in attendance.

What they witnessed was vintage Bernard Tomic.

Bernard Tomic stops to speak with fans after his loss.

In the first game of the match – which he lost – Tomic was unable to chase down a groundstroke.

“Can’t run,” he said, almost apologetically, to those in attendance.

Movement has never been Tomic’s strength. His hands have always been better than his feet and now, at the age of 33 and seemingly carrying an injury picked up last week playing in Brisbane, he was limping noticeably.

And then a scene that has played out so many times before. An injured Tomic remained on court long enough to remind us what he is capable of. There were flashes of the court craft that made him one the most beguiling sights in tennis; the sliced backhand, the audacious drop shot, the shot-making that resulted in favourable comparisons to the “The Magician”, flashy Frenchman Fabrice Santoro.

Bernard Tomic leaves the court after his defeat.

But mostly, it was an injured man going through the motions. At one point it seemed he would call for the trainer – “just say that it was because of last week” – but ultimately opted against treatment.

When Matsuoka won the first set 6-4, it was a surprise to see Tomic head back to his chair, apparently to regroup and fight on. The Australian returned for the second set, played one point, lost it and then conceded defeat to his 483-ranked opponent. It all lasted 35 minutes.

After retiring hurt in the first round, Tomic – whose career earnings stood at $US6,648,089 – added a further $US1045 to the total.

Tomic declined interview requests, leaving the big question – why does he keep playing? – unanswered.

‘You’ve got to take your hat off to him … still going out there and having a crack.’

Lleyton Hewitt on Bernard Tomic

So we asked Australian legend Lleyton Hewitt, who was at the Tennis World Sydney Olympic Park precinct to watch his son Cruz, with whom he will play doubles on Wednesday.

“It’s a hard one, I don’t think anyone fully knows,” Hewitt said. “I’m not sure if he doesn’t know what else to do or he still feels that he’s got some unfinished business.

“You’ve got to take your hat off to him, though, in terms of the places he’s gone to and the tournaments that he’s been playing the last few years, compared to where he was at – centre stage and playing the big names.

“You’ve got to take your hat off to him in terms of that, still going out there and having a crack. He doesn’t mind playing on back courts and whatever. It’s up to him, I spoke to him a couple of times this week and, yeah, I don’t know what his plans are.”

Tomic has graced the centre courts of three of the four grand slams and faced Andy Murray in a Davis Cup in Glasgow. Midway through Tuesday’s loss, the crowd swelled to about 40, hoping to witness a flash of the Tomic of old. It’s likely the viewership would have dwarfed the attendance when Tomic stepped onto the claycourts of Kigali, Rwanda in March (where he was knocked out in the first round).

But still Tomic perseveres, attempting to claw his way back into the main draw of a grand slam for the first time since cracking the second round of the Australian Open in 2021.

Is there a world in which he could get back there this summer?

“There is,” Hewitt said. “The biggest question I would have is, back-to-back matches physically in the heat – how that’s going to go.

“If he gets the right draw, and he’s able to take care of his first and second rounds [of qualifying then] maybe, and comes in fresh to the last round. He’s still got the class. I don’t really know what his goals are or what he wants to get out of the sport.”