Bernard Tomic has been dumped by racket sponsors Head hours after he was fined more than £11,000 following his controversial first-round exit from Wimbledon. The Australian was beaten in straight sets by Mischa Zverev on Tuesday and then gave an extraordinary press conference, saying he felt “bored†during the match.
Tomic also admitted he called for the trainer even though he was not injured to try to disrupt his opponent’s momentum. It has resulted in a fine of £11,600 ($15,000) from the International Tennis Federation, a significant chunk of his £35,000 earnings from the tournament.
The 24-year-old’s level of effort has frequently been called into question, and he said on Tuesday: “I couldn’t care less if I make a fourth round at the US Open or I lose first round. To me, everything is the same. I’m going to play another 10 years, and I know after my career I won’t have to work again.â€
News of the fine was followed by a statement from Head, who stood firmly behind Maria Sharapova during her doping ban but have deemed Tomic’s attitude unacceptable.
A statement on Head’s official website read: “We were extremely disappointed with the statements made at Wimbledon by one of our sponsored athletes, Bernard Tomic.
“His opinions in no way reflect our own attitude for tennis, our passion, professionalism and respect for the game. Therefore, we have decided to discontinue our collaboration with Bernard Tomic.â€
Daniil Medvedev, the young Russian who knocked out Stan Wawrinka, has also been fined three times for a total of £11,200 ($14,500) for unsportsmanlike conduct after the officials decreed he had made an accusation of bias when he threw money at the umpire’s chair following the conclusion of his ill-tempered second-round exit against Belgium’s Ruben Bemelmans. Medvedev seemed to ask the court supervisor to remove Mariana Alves as umpire late in the fifth set then emptied his wallet of loose change moments after losing 6-4, 6-2, 3-6, 2-6, 6-2.
Medvedev was given a $4,000 fine for a warning after badmouthing the umpire, a $3,000 fine for a point penalty and $7,500 for the coin-throwing incident.
It is not the first time Medvedev, who knocked out Stan Wawrinka in the first round, has been in hot water over his conduct towards officials. At a second-tier event last year, the 21-year-old was defaulted from a match after saying the umpire Sandy French was “friends†with his opponent Donald Young. Both are black.
So far at this Wimbledon tournament £25,900 worth of fines have been issued.
