Bernard Tomic is one of the most controversial tennis players of the 21st century, and Denis Shapovalov told an anecdote about the Australian that left him seething.
2024 had been a challenging year for Shapovalov, but he can now relax and contentedly tell anecdotes after finishing the season gloriously at the Serbia Open in Belgrade a few weeks ago.
Due to his low ranking, Shapovalov needed to win two matches during qualifying in Serbia. However, once he progressed to the main draw, the 2021 Wimbledon semifinalist suddenly found inspiration.
Victories against Hugo Grenier, Marton Fucsovics, Christopher O'Connell, Jiri Lehecka, and Hamad Medjedovic secured Shapovalov the second ATP title of his career. Novak Djokovic presented him with the trophy afterward.
The Canadian's turbulent 2024 until that moment included being controversially disqualified at the Citi Open in Washington in a match against Ben Shelton. Last month, Shapovalov admitted he was still angry about the incident.
Once tipped as a future Grand Slam winner, Tomic's fortunes have drastically declined in recent years. Despite improving his ranking in the last 12 months, he is still outside the Top 200.
The 32-year-old has also been known for his sometimes outrageous antics, which continued this year. For example, Tomic was removed from the stands during a match after heckling a player he lost to earlier in the tournament.
Tomic also generated headlines after setting a record for the fastest loss in an ATP Challenger final since statistics began to be kept. He also holds the record for the quickest defeat in a match at ATP 250 level and above.
Lapses in concentration and not taking physical conditioning seriously enough are two reasons why Tomic has been prone to such sudden lapses. That has hampered his chances of becoming a consistent player near the top of men's tennis.
In an episode of the All on the Table series, Shapovalov told an anecdote from 2019 about his then-coach, Mikhail Youzhny, organizing a practice session with Tomic that left him furious and demonstrated how talented Tomic is.
"I was doing a pre-season in Gold Coast, and I was super confident, like I made the Paris finals. So I'm working like so hard. and [Mikhail Youzhny], he's like, hey Bernard Tomic is here, like, maybe we set up a practice?"
"I'm like, is he hitting though, like, how good is it gonna be? You know, he's like, not on the Tour but he says, he's good, he's good, let's do two hours tomorrow. Like 10, 15 minutes in, [Bernanrd Tomic's] like, 'Hey, can we grab a drink? I'm gassed'."
"He's like 'This is my first hit in like six months, or something like that. I can't do much more' and we're like "F*** okay. So usually it's like, hey can you stand in one side and like, move me, and he's like 'It's okay and no problem, like, I can do another 10 minutes" and after like 30 minutes he's like, yeah guys, 'I can't, I can't go anymore'."
"[Mikhail Youzhny's] like, hey, could we just play like a quick tiebreak or 10 points to finish practice and he's like, 'Yeah, sure. Let's do this.' Dude, the guy crushes me, like 10-4, hitting insane, I wasn't playing bad but the guy's like passing me, like playing ridiculous and I was like low-key pissed."
Although the anecdote is amusing, it is also an insight into what Tomic could have achieved if he had taken the sport more seriously.
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