Bernie Tomic Offered Help By Tony Roche

Written by: Bob Larson Tennis on 28th November 2013

Bernie Tomic Offered Help By Tony Roche

epa03529762 Australia's Bernard Tomic celebrates his win over Finland's Jarkko Nieminen in their mens quarter final singles match at the Sydney International tennis tournament at Sydney Olympic Park Tennis Centre, Sydney, Australia, 10 January 2013. EPA/DEAN LEWINS AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND OUT |

Veteran Australian coach Tony Roche has extended the hand of friendship to Bernard Tomic, telling the sometimes-clueless 21-year-old that he is welcome to train with the Roche team in Sydney.

Tomic, considered the top hope to replace Lleyton Hewitt in the Aussie game, was a lost soul during 2013, with his results modest and his father’s court case in Spain for attacking a hitting partner overshadowing anything the No. 51 managed on court.

As it turns out, his results were nothing special, with Tomic losing his last four ATP matches of the autumn and then going out without a win in a Challenger before giving it up for the season.

Roche, who has trained greats including Ivan Lendl, Roger Federer and Hewitt over the decades, told Melbourne’s Age that he would welcome Tomic in Sydney should he require a coach. Tomic was nominally coached by his father, who is serving a ban from the ATP after his Madrid violence.

“I hear Bernard may be looking for a coach and I want to tell him he would be welcome with us,” said Roche. “He is a good player and has a quality that cannot be taught. It’s important for him to find the right coach. If he doesn’t have one by the start of the Australian tennis summer we will be happy to help him out. He would feel perhaps that he’s working on a Davis Cup team.”

Tomic is due to start his 2014 season in late December along with Samantha Stosur at the Hopman Cup mixed teams event in Perth.

Topics: 10sballs, Atp, Bernard Tomic, Ivan Lendl, Lleyton Hewitt, Roger Federer, Samantha Stosur, Sports, Tennis, Tennis News, Tony Roche