Bernard Tomic suffered an embarrassing slip in an epic downfall at a Challenger event in Chicago. The Australian had match point against world No. 424 Stefan Dostanic, but he tripped over his own feet and soon retired.
Tomic has slogged away on the ATP Challenger circuit for the last few years. A former Wimbledon quarter-finalist and world No. 17, the 32-year-old earned only £47,700 in prize money last year. He was ranked outside the top 1,200 as recently as 2023. Tomic is keen to retire on his way terms and clearly wants to continue playing in the lower tours.
But ahead of a likely entry into US Open qualifying, Tomic suffered a major hishap in Chicago. Having battled through a tough first set to win 7-6, he led 5-4 in the second set.
Tomic had match point and seemed to be on his way to victory in the first round of the tournament. But as he returned Dostanic’s serve, he somehow tripped over his own right foot. He laid on his back on the hard court for several moments with his arms over his face.
With Dostanic 2-0 ahead in the deciding set, Tomic decided to retire from the match. Fatigue was cited as the reason for his withdrawal.
Once the rankings update, Tomic is set to land a spot in the world’s top 200. He is likely to take part in the qualifying rounds of the US Open.
Tomic once claimed he did not love tennis and even controversially insisted that he was ‘bored’ during Wimbledon in 2017. That was six years after the four-time ATP title winner reached his only Grand Slam quarter-final at the All England Club.
However, speaking in June, Tomic said: “Without tennis, I don’t know what I would do. I’m sitting about 200 in the world, or whatever, and my goal is to be top 100, and then I can retire. It’s more of a statement, that sort of thing, so let’s see if I can do it. It’s the only thing I’m good at.
“I’ve been good at it for almost three decades, so it gets me going. I can still play decent. I’m not in my prime like I was, but that’s why I’m challenging myself to get back there one more time. And then retire happy and guilt-free.”
