Bernard Tomic Named to Australia’s Davis Cup Squad

Written by: Staff on 25th March 2013

Sony Open tennis tournament on Key Biscayne

Bernard Tomic Named to Australia’s Davis Cup Squad

epa03634815 Bernard Tomic of Australia returns the ball to Marc Giquel of France during their first round match at the Sony Open tennis tournament in Miami, Florida, USA, 21 March 2013. EPA/ERIK S. LESSER |

Bernard Tomic has ended his feud with Tennis Australia and backed down on his insistence that he wouldn’t return to his nation’s Davis Cup team until much later in the year. Now the controversial 20 year-old, has told Aussie captain Patrick Rafter he is available to play next month’s Asia-Oceania Zone tie in Uzbekistan.

Earlier this year Tomic, the youngest player in the world’s top 100, responded negatively to Rafter and Tennis Australia’s attempts to force him to knuckle down at his profession after another run in with the Queensland police for motoring offenses and a run of careless matches at the end of 2012.

However there has clearly been a change of heart and Tomic now insists: “The Davis Cup is going to be held after this [Miami],” Tomic said. ”We’re going to train in Munich when everyone’s done here and then play against Uzbekistan.

”We have got a good team now. I think we should win and Davis Cup is back on the roll for me and I’m going to try my heart out when it comes.”

So now Tomic, Marinko Matosevic and veteran Lleyton Hewitt will vie for singles positions for the tie in Namangan to be played April 5-7. Australia may have won the Davis Cup title 28 times but the nation which hasn’t featured in the 16-team elite World Group since 2007 and victory against Uzbekistan will put Rafter’s team through to a September play-off.

Clearly contrite, Tomic added: “It was always a dream for me to play Davis Cup at a young age and you want to represent your country whenever you can and to get the opportunity back is huge and I’m really looking forward to it.”

However there was more controversy for Tomic on Saturday as he was booed off court following his lackluster second round performance against second seed in the Sony Open in Miami.

Tomic only managed to win ten points throughout in second set of his meeting with US Open and Olympic champion Murray but maintained he was feeling the effects of a virus accentuated by sleeping in a room with the air conditioning on high.

“I didn’t play very good in the second set,” acknowledged Tomic who barely moved in reaction to some of Murray’s shots late in the match. “I didn’t feel at 100 per cent. I tried my best but it was not good enough.

“I’ve had some sort of flu for the last few days. I can’t breathe through my nose and I lose energy quickly on court. I felt good in my first round, but I must have slept under too much A/C.

“The match [with Murray] was played in very hot conditions, and I was soon struggling. After losing the first set it was going to be really difficult to come back from a set down.”

©Daily Tennis News

Topics: Bernard Tomic, Davis Cup, Lleyton Hewitt, Marinko Matosevic, Patrick Rafter, Sports, Tennis News, Tennsi Australia