The ATP has shed little light on a head-butt incident from the father of Bernard Tomic which could result in a court appearance for the notorious hothead tennis parent. “We can confirm there was an incident and we are gathering information,” said an ATP spokesman at the Madrid Masters, venue for the incident last week.
According to reports, the elder Tomic attacked his son’s hitting partner Thomas Drouet, giving the 29-year-old a head-butt outside a Madrid hotel which resulted in a broken nose, black eyes and required a neck brace.
Tomic rang Australian media overnight to say that he was not in jail but said little else on the violent incident which could possibly land him in a Madrid court if a complaint was filed.
The simmering incident apparently began a fortnight ago in Monte Carlo where Tomic has a base and continued on a flight to Madrid. At the tournament hotel, the senior Tomic reportedly called Drouet outside to the pavements, where the attack occurred.
Todd Woodbridge, the head of men’s tennis for Tennis Australia, told Melbourne radio: “We’re still trying to ascertain if or what charges have been laid.”
Tomic, 20, has had his troubles with not only his Davis Cup captain Patrick Rafter but with Queensland police over speeding and driving a high-powered BMW on a provisional license. His desire to excel in the sport has also been called into question frequently with Rafter suspending him from Davis Cup before a reconciliation in time for April’s tie against Uzbekistan.
Tomic was also booed at Miami for an apparent lack of effort in a second-round loss to Andy Murray. He has yet to win an ATP clay match this spring, losing in Monte Carlo and on Sunday in Madrid to Czech Radek Stepanek.
©Daily Tennis News Wire
Topics: Australian tennis news, Bernard Tomic, John Tomic, Madrid Masters, Spanish tennis news, Thomas Drouet