(Reuters) – Australian Bernard Tomic said he planned to appeal against his fine for not playing to “required professional standards” during his 58-minute, first-round thrashing by Jo-Wilfried Tsonga at Wimbledon, as he had been unwell at the time.
FILE PHOTO: Tennis – Wimbledon – All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, London, Britain – July 5, 2018. Australia’s Bernard Tomic reacts after Japan’s Kei Nishikori won their second round match. REUTERS/Toby Melville
Tomic lost Tuesday’s match 6-2 6-1 6-4 in a performance described as “appalling” and “embarrassing” on social media and the 26-year-old was fined 45,000 pounds ($56,349) by tournament organizers.
It was the shortest Wimbledon men’s match for 15 years and the second shortest men’s singles match at the All England Club since records began in 2002.
“Flying from Turkey and losing in (the) quarter-finals (there), playing few matches in 40C heat and I was run down and became a bit unwell over the weekend,” Tomic told News Corp Australia.
“I then competed with one of the top five players on grass, losing 6-2 6-1 6-4. I didn’t lose 6-0 6-0 6-0.
“From the start of the match I knew I had very little chance because I was feeling down but I thought I would go on court to try (because) it’s Wimbledon.”
Frenchman Tsonga said he felt his victory had been devalued after Tomic was fined and pointed out that the Australian had put up a fight in the third set.
“I had no chance, it was 6-2 6-1 before I knew it,” Tomic added. “The third set was a little better but still felt quick. At the end of the day, my best efforts were super poor that day but it’s all I had.
“My movement normally is pretty bad, it just became super slow motion on court. Tsonga was serving amazing and taking so little time between serves, pushing me to also play.
“Sorry, guys, for feeling unwell.”
The 1.96-metre Australian, ranked 96th in the world, has not moved past the first round in any of the three Grand Slams this year, losing in straight sets in all his matches.
It is not the first time Tomic has been in trouble for not trying. He was nicknamed “Tomic the Tank Engine” after accusations that he “tanked” — or failed to try his best — in a loss to Andy Roddick at the 2012 U.S. Open.
($1 = 0.7986 pounds)
Reporting by Rohith Nair in Bengaluru; editing by Clare Fallon