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Extraordinary new development after 'sad' Bernard Tomic drama

sam goodwin
Sports Editor
·4-min read

Bernard Tomic will be one of four Australians in the main draw of the ATP Tour's Delray Beach Open, despite suffering another humiliating straight-sets defeat in qualifying.

Tomic was beaten 6-2 6-0 in just 53 minutes by Ernests Gulbis in the second round of qualifying in Florida on Sunday.

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However, he remains in the ATP 250 tournament after being drawn as the lucky loser to replace Tennys Sandgren, who withdrew due to knee pain.

Queenslander Tomic will face Cedrik-Marcel Stebe in the first round with the winner taking on either second-seeded Canadian Milos Raonic or Italian veteran Andreas Seppi - the beaten finalist at the New York Open on Sunday.

Nick Kyrgios is the top seed in Delray Beach, as he returns to the tour after he pulled out of the New York Open due to a shoulder ailment, while fifth-seeded John Millman and Jordan Thompson are in the same half of the draw as the world No.20.

Bernard Tomic, pictured here in action at the Delray Beach Open.
Bernard Tomic appeared to check out mentally. Image: ATP/Getty

The 27-year-old Tomic has plummeted to 191st in the world, having been ranked a career-high 17th just four years ago.

Tomic's quickfire loss to Gulbis, in which he won just three points in the second set, is still the second longest of his past five matches.

He endured the second-fastest defeat of his career last week in New York, falling to Japan's Go Soeda 6-2 6-1 in just 39 minutes.

He lost to world No.306 Brandon Nakashima in just 44 minutes in Dallas earlier this month.

That shortest match of Tomic's career is his 28-minute effort in losing 6-0 6-1 to Jarkko Nieminen in 2014.

Shockingly, Tomic won just three points in the second set, with fans noting that he appeared ‘sad’ on court.

Fans and commentators took to social media to express their concerns after he appeared completely downhearted on court in the second set.

Tomic sinks to sad new lows

The loss adds to his recent frustrations after failing to make the Australian Open in a dramatic first-round exit in qualifying.

The Aussie was struggling with breathing issues during his qualifier, as the former world No.17 was dismissed by seventh-seeded American Denis Kudla in straight sets 7-6 (7-4), 6-3 in hot and smoky conditions at Melbourne Park.

His match got off to a promising start but the 27-year-old slowly began to wilt.

Tomic called for a medic at 1-2 in the second set, saying he was having difficulty breathing.

Bernard Tomic, pictured here during qualifying for the Australian Open.
Bernard Tomic failed to qualify for the Australian Open. (Photo by Daniel Pockett/Getty Images)

"I just can't breathe," Tomic was heard to say.

The doctor gave him an inhaler and checked his chest with a stethoscope, before clearing him to resume.

But the Queenslander was unable to hold his serve and went down 1-3 which spelled the end of his challenge.

A former Wimbledon quarter-finalist, Tomic was hoping for a brighter 2020 after his ranking plummeted to 182 following a year to forget which included a hand injury.

Tomic recorded just seven wins at ATP level - none at the slams - and hadn't played a competitive match since October.

Overlooked by Tennis Australia for a wildcard into the main draw, Tomic needed to win three sudden-death encounters to enter the season's first grand slam.

with AAP