Tennis News from Australia / Rod Laver Talks About Bernie Tomic

Written by: Bob Larson Tennis on 21st December 2013

Tennis News from Australia / Rod Laver Talks About Bernie Tomic

epa01993565 Bernard Tomic of Australia reacts in his first round match against Guillaume Rufin of France at the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne, Australia on 18 January 2010. EPA/MARTIN PHILBEY AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND OUT |

Tennis great Rod Laver believes that Australian young gun Bernard Tomic needs to make a New Year resolution to work a lot harder if he’s to advance his stalled career. Tomic will start 2014 ranked 51st, one spot lower than he ended a year ago and faces major pressure from the start as he defends his only career title in early January in Sydney.

But the 21-year-old Tomic doesn’t appear to yet possess the intensity needed by a champion, according to Laver, with the veteran telling Brisbane’s Courier-Mail that the youngster doesn’t seem to give his all on court. “Maybe Bernard sometimes feels he doesn’t want to put in too much on court because then maybe he won’t play his best in a match.

“It’s probably (about) preparation, putting in your best effort. You can push yourself a lot more than you think you can. It’s possibly one of the things Bernard needs to look at, to force himself into positions on the court.

“It’s hard to pinpoint. He played some great matches at Wimbledon this year and hopefully he will start getting some wins which he should get.”

While Tomic spins his wheels, Laver has his eye on another young player who does seem ready to lift. For the only man win the calendar-year grand slam twice, Canadian Milos Raonic is the kid to watch, with his 11th ranking leaving him just a step from a place among the ATP elite.

“I think Nadal and Djokovic will have it between them for the next few years, but Raonic is a very important part of things and has improved out of sight since he got a new coach and a new-found game. He’s going to be tough to beat. In two or three years he’s going to be a force among the very top players.”

Topics: 10sballs, Atp, Bernard Tomic, milos raonic, Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Rod Laver, Sports, Tennis, Tennis News