Bernard Tomic Hopes to Pull Out of His Slump in London

Written by: Staff on 23rd July 2012

Bernard Tomic Hopes to Pull Out of His Slump in London

epa03308183 Bernard Tomic of Australia returns a ball to Benoit Paire of France during the first round match at the Suisse Open tennis tournament in Gstaad, Switzerland, 16 July 2012. EPA/PETER SCHNEIDER |

The most cursory study of Bernard Tomic’s recent form would suggest the Australian teenager is currently better at making sweeping statements than winning tennis matches.

Tomic, 19, has not won a match since reaching the second round at the French Open last month and last week slumped to his fifth consecutive first-round defeat at the Swiss Open is Gstaad with a 6-0 6-4 failure against Frenchman Benoit Paire.

But he readily joined the growing debate on what is the pinnacle achievement in tennis; winning a Grand Slam title or having Olympic gold hung around your neck.

“You can’t put into words what winning a gold medal would mean,” said Tomic who arrived back in London on Sunday to make his Olympic debut along with seasoned campaigners, former Wimbledon champion Lleyton Hewitt and current holder of the U.S. Open title Samantha Stosur.

Tomic, who believes best-of-three sets Olympic format for all rounds up to the final would boost the chances of some lesser ranked players. ” I think the top players favor the best of five,” he said.

“It’s more difficult to beat them over a longer period. To beat them in best of three is a better chance so the opportunity is there for a lot of players, including me.

“For me winning a gold medal is bigger than winning a grand slam and I can only dream of it. The Olympics is like a fifth grand slam and something I always wanted to do better at than grand slams.”

Tomic was a Wimbledon quarter-finalist in 2011 but lost early to Belgian David Goffin just a few weeks ago. In hindsight he felt impeded by mental pressures that affected his training regime. However he believes his past record at the All England Club will help at the Olympics. “I have done well in London in the past, so I think it will help me a lot,” he concluded “But I need to have some luck, too.”

©Daily Tennis News Wire

Topics: Australian tennis news, Benoit Paire, Bernard Tomic, Gstaad tennis news, London Olympics 2012, Sports, Tennis News