Tomic in trouble on day he was supposed to be playing tennis
Tomic in trouble on day he was supposed to be playing tennis
Published: 12:03 pm Jul 17, 2015
SYDNEY: Bernard Tomic was supposed to be playing Davis Cup tennis for Australia on Friday. Instead, news emerged that the 22-year-old Tomic, suspended from the match for his critical comments of Tennis Australia and performance director Pat Rafter, had been arrested in Miami Beach, Florida earlier in the week. Tomic, who was set to play in the Davis Cup quarterfinal against Kazakhstan before his feud with Rafter, was allegedly contacted three times over loud music after noise complaints from other guests at a Miami Beach hotel. A Miami police report stated that he 'pointed his finger aggressively towards the hotel security officers and continued to play loud music,' prompting them to call the police. Tomic was charged with resisting arrest and trespassing after refusing to leave his room. Australian media quoted other police officials as saying Tomic could face jail time. Tomic told a Sydney radio station Friday that he did not hear earlier knocks on the door, and apologized for the incident. Rafter told Australian media on Friday that he felt Tomic had hit 'rock bottom.' Australian Davis Cup captain Wally Masur said Friday he hoped to speak with Tomic soon. 'I'd like to think we've got the resources to help him, absolutely,' Masur said. 'I've got four kids, and I look at Bernie as a 22-year-old kid in my eyes. 'I like him, and for me personally I will send Bernie a message. Whether he chooses to talk to me or not that's up to him. But I absolutely hope that Bernie can just move on and get back to what he does best. which is playing tennis.' It's not Tomic's first issues with police. In 2013 he had his drivers' license taken away after he was caught speeding on the Gold Coast near Brisbane a second time. A year earlier, he was placed under police investigation after an alleged brawl in a Gold Coast apartment spa. Tomic's father and coach, John Tomic Sr., was given an eight-month suspended sentence and banned from the ATP tour for a year in September 2013 for assaulting his son's former hitting partner, Thomas Drouet. At Wimbledon this year, Tomic, after reading Rafter's earlier comments critical of him, complained at a post-match press conference about lack of support when he was injured, being made to pay for practice balls and courts and directly criticized other Tennis Australia officials, resulting in the Davis Cup suspension.