Australian media and Pat Rafter are fair weather friends to Tomic

[Amelie Mauresmo]

So now, Patrick Rafer is upset at Tomic because he won't be available for the next Davis Cup tie. Isn't it interesting how the Australian media and Rafter operate, now that Tomic is on a hot streak, winning his first ATP Tour title in Sydney, and beating Djokovic in an exhibition he's suddenly the pride of Australia again.

Didn't Rafter just diss Tomic, glad the young man is starting to stand up for himself. I don't know why he would even bother considering playing Davis Cup for Australia at all?


I hope Tomic and his family can see through the bigoted Australian media xenophobic BS. So suddenly because Tomic is successful again he's the pride of the country since he's the only legit player of the future they got. But a few weeks ago, Tomic was considered worse than scum. Funny, how having better results makes someone a hero once again.

I know Tomic is young, but this kid has serious talent, I hope he is smart enough to see the hypocrisy of the Australian press, Rafter and others ect. towards him/ They do not have this young man's best interest at heart they only see him as a means to an end.

[Jeffrey573639]

I personally think Rafter's got the wrong idea. Tomic ought to be trying to peak now for slams and perhaps go for some 500's. Going deep into important tournaments is way more important than disrupting schedule and travelling halfway around the world for an unimportant tournament he has near 0% chance of winning. Then again he is the Davis Cup Captain, so prbly his job to press him

[Bartelby]

Tomic has little interest in the Davis Cup at the moment so that's a little annoying if you are the Davis Cup capitain and as valuing the Australian Davis cup squad is considered patriotic Tomic gets bad press.

An Australian of whatever stripe winning in Sydney and Melbourne is good for ratings, so instead of coming down hard on Tomic his failings will be carefully avoided while he is winning.

[nethawkwenatchee]

Originally Posted by Amelie Mauresmo

So now, Patrick Rafer is upset at Tomic because he won't be available for the next Davis Cup tie. Isn't it interesting how the Australian media and Rafter operate, now that Tomic is on a hot streak, winning his first ATP Tour title in Sydney, and beating Djokovic in an exhibition he's suddenly the pride of Australia again.

Didn't Rafter just diss Tomic, glad the young man is starting to stand up for himself. I don't know why he would even bother considering playing Davis Cup for Australia at all?


I hope Tomic and his family can see through the bigoted Australian media xenophobic BS. So suddenly because Tomic is successful again he's the pride of the country since he's the only legit player of the future they got. But a few weeks ago, Tomic was considered worse than scum. Funny, how having better results makes someone a hero once again.

I know Tomic is young, but this kid has serious talent, I hope he is smart enough to see the hypocrisy of the Australian press, Rafter and others ect. towards him/ They do not have this young man's best interest at heart they only see him as a means to an end.

Pat Rafter cares more for Bernard Tomic than you can imagine:

Just a short time ago Tomic was acting like a jack ***, getting into trouble with the law on several occasions over juvenile crap. His play, and ranking were tanking, he was headed the wrong direction on all accounts (this is often seen as a problem, especially when money has been invested on an athlete and they are involved in a team situation where performance = team success/failure directly).

Pat Rafter was simply responding to this situation, trying to light a fire under Tomic's *** (obviously this has worked). We live in a world where far too many people "get away" with this kind of behavior, only to throw away the God given potential while friends, family, and anyone else who cares sits around wondering "what could have been"

I for one much prefer leaders who care enough to do what ever it takes to open the eyes of the wayward son. Once in a while you see someone (Tomic in this case) take accountability and "Man Up". The media is always going to report on the successes or failures of a public figure (so yes, they "operate" this way, by nature) Please don't group Pat Rafter into this for demanding the best out of his best player. Also, Tomic understands who is on his side and looks up to Rafter. This is why Rafter is a great leader.

[OrLevy]

The problem is that too many Aussies (Ex players, coaches, etc) spoke publicly about Tomic in the past year. Whatever they wanted to say to him they could have kept off the press, but it seems like every communication became public knowledge.

He is very young, he's bound to have bad days and bad months and for his form to waver. Some patience would have done them good.

Instead of taking Tomic off the team in such showy, in-your-face way, PR could have told him (and the press) that he's waiting till after AO to pick his team, so he could evaluate their form. Or he could have kept Tomic on the team but decide not to play him. It's not like he has so many options.

Surely he must have known that publicly humiliating Tomic could backfire if Tomic's form suddenly improves, which it did (and it was likely to improve - again, he's young - these things were going to happen).

[nethawkwenatchee]

Originally Posted by OrLevy

The problem is that too many Aussies (Ex players, coaches, etc) spoke publicly about Tomic in the past year. Whatever they wanted to say to him they could have kept off the press, but it seems like every communication became public knowledge.

He is very young, he's bound to have bad days and bad months and for his form to waver. Some patience would have done them good.

Instead of taking Tomic off the team in such showy, in-your-face way, PR could have told him (and the press) that he's waiting till after AO to pick his team, so he could evaluate their form. Or he could have kept Tomic on the team but decide not to play him. It's not like he has so many options.

Surely he must have known that publicly humiliating Tomic could backfire if Tomic's form suddenly improves, which it did (and it was likely to improve - again, he's young - these things were going to happen).

You make some fair points but I believe you're buying into Amelie M's notion that Tomic was ostracized unfairly, and without merit. I would mention that Tomic was developing off court law troubles at the same rate his oncourt splender was fading. Do you believe that Pat Rafter and the Tennis Australia hierarchy didn't attempt a lighter and less public means of correction first?

Pat Rafter is a guy who leads as he played: with class and good intention, he didn't wan't to make a public issue out of Bernie... he was forced to. Bernie is absolutely benifiting from his wake up call and should be very thankful for Rafters leadership. Also, it's not as though Pat Rafter and Tennis Australia only expect the best from Berie Tomic. Look at what Tennis Australia's chief of men's player development Todd Woodbridge had to say about action they had to take with Marinko Matosevic last year: "Bernie is where Marinko (Matosevic) was in the sense that Marinko was asked to deal with a few matters in his game and look where he is now," http://www.theaustralian.com.au/spor...-1226551422725

They were absolutely hoping that Tomic would recieve the wake up call and are delighted that he's changing. Bernie is a Man and is finally acting like it, don't feel sorry for any thing that's happened to him. It's all working in his favor to make him a champion.

[beast of mallorca]

I hope Federer pummels him to the ground in the 3rd round 6-1 6-0 6-0

[Kirijax]

Everybody looks good and are embraced when they are winning. Even scoundrels like McEnroe. Just part of the sports culture.

[veroniquem]

Originally Posted by OrLevy

The problem is that too many Aussies (Ex players, coaches, etc) spoke publicly about Tomic in the past year. Whatever they wanted to say to him they could have kept off the press, but it seems like every communication became public knowledge.

He is very young, he's bound to have bad days and bad months and for his form to waver. Some patience would have done them good.

Instead of taking Tomic off the team in such showy, in-your-face way, PR could have told him (and the press) that he's waiting till after AO to pick his team, so he could evaluate their form. Or he could have kept Tomic on the team but decide not to play him. It's not like he has so many options.

Surely he must have known that publicly humiliating Tomic could backfire if Tomic's form suddenly improves, which it did (and it was likely to improve - again, he's young - these things were going to happen).

I agree that all this should have happened behind the scenes. Tomic has a lot of potential. I watched his matches at AO last year and 1 thing that struck me is that he has no fear on crucial points, he takes risks and he's not easily intimidated. Those are fundamental qualities for a future top player. I am very curious to see how the next few years are gonna pan out for him. To me, he's the most interesting of the 3 "new crop" guys. (Him, Dimitrov, Harrison )

[Amelie Mauresmo]

Tomic got in a fight with a friend in a pool hardly serious. People act like Tomic was smoking dope and robbing banks or something. The Australian media are going overboard with this kid he's only twenty. I can see why Tomic isn't impressed with the Australian media they act like players don't have feelings.

Do people here remember when you were twenty years old? Also, all these Australian pros such a Stosur, Hewitt, Rafter, talking crap about Tomic in the press is uncalled for.

Tomic should be focusing on his tennis career it is an individual sport and let Hewitt play Davis Cup. This young man has massive potential yes he has some personal problems but who doesn't in life?

The way the Australian media are acting as though Tomic is on dope or doing something extreme when is not.

[nethawkwenatchee]

Originally Posted by beast of mallorca

I hope Federer pummels him to the ground in the 3rd round 6-1 6-0 6-0

Federer is an amazing champion and is certainly still capable of great performances, theres no question about that. I do feel that such a scoreline is highly improbable against a guy like Bernard Tomic at this time/place. Lets face it, Federer is 31, with alot of miles and Bernie is 20, just won his first ATP event, beat world #1 Djokovic two weeks ago, looking great physically and mentally, ETC.

Tomic is coming into his own at the moment and isn't going to lay down for Federer or anyone else. This is a completely different Bernie than we saw five months ago at the US Open (Roddick match, ETC.) This version is confident, moving well and going at his opponent, he'll have extra confidence after the past few weeks. You can be sure that Federer has him on his radar (although, I'm not saying Federer is sweating or loosing sleep). I'd go out on a limb and say that Tomic should be considered dangerous to anyone on his half.

[rossi46]

Originally Posted by Amelie Mauresmo

So now, Patrick Rafer is upset at Tomic because he won't be available for the next Davis Cup tie. Isn't it interesting how the Australian media and Rafter operate, now that Tomic is on a hot streak, winning his first ATP Tour title in Sydney, and beating Djokovic in an exhibition he's suddenly the pride of Australia again.

Didn't Rafter just diss Tomic, glad the young man is starting to stand up for himself. I don't know why he would even bother considering playing Davis Cup for Australia at all?


I hope Tomic and his family can see through the bigoted Australian media xenophobic BS. So suddenly because Tomic is successful again he's the pride of the country since he's the only legit player of the future they got. But a few weeks ago, Tomic was considered worse than scum. Funny, how having better results makes someone a hero once again.

I know Tomic is young, but this kid has serious talent, I hope he is smart enough to see the hypocrisy of the Australian press, Rafter and others ect. towards him/ They do not have this young man's best interest at heart they only see him as a means to an end.

You are right on the money, in particular the part about the xenophobic media and it's not just them, it's the entire Australian tennis fraternity. Mark Philipoussis was treated very much the same way despite single handledly winning the Davis cup for Australia in France on one occasion. And what do you know, he shares a similarity to Tomic, no need to elaborate on what that is.

[chandler bing]

Originally Posted by Amelie Mauresmo

Tomic got in a fight with a friend in a pool hardly serious. People act like Tomic was smoking dope and robbing banks or something. The Australian media are going overboard with this kid he's only twenty. I can see why Tomic isn't impressed with the Australian media they act like players don't have feelings.

Do people here remember when you were twenty years old? Also, all these Australian pros such a Stosur, Hewitt, Rafter, talking crap about Tomic in the press is uncalled for.

Tomic should be focusing on his tennis career it is an individual sport and let Hewitt play Davis Cup. This young man has massive potential yes he has some personal problems but who doesn't in life?

The way the Australian media are acting as though Tomic is on dope or doing something extreme when is not.

As I stated in the other thread, it's an Aussie thing.

I know in other countries, some sportsmen are considered to be godlike and untouchable. Not in Australia. Nobody is considered above criticism. It's the norm here for even very famous, talented people to be publicly and harshly criticized when they mess up. Bernie had it coming for ages.

[nethawkwenatchee]

Originally Posted by Amelie Mauresmo

I hope Tomic and his family can see through the bigoted Australian media xenophobic BS.

Originally Posted by rossi46

You are right on the money, in particular the part about the xenophobic media and it's not just them, it's the entire Australian tennis fraternity. Mark Philipoussis was treated very much the same way despite single handledly winning the Davis cup for Australia in France on one occasion. And what do you know, he shares a similarity to Tomic, no need to elaborate on what that is.

I have to admit it. I looked up the definition of the word "xenophobic"

XENOPHOBIA
: fear and hatred of strangers or foreigners or of anything that is strange or foreign http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/xenophobia

It's well known that Bernie was born (in Germany) to a Croatian father and a Bosnian mother but I'm not quite sure I understand what you guys mean here. I've been following this story a bit and I've never gotten the impression that the tennis Australia guys or media or anyone else was making any to do over Tomic for any other reason than the ones I've discussed in previous posts (by the way I live in the U.S and don't have any personal ties to Tennis Australia or anything )

I think it really isn't that sinister. Bernie was making poor decisions, everyone including John McEnroe, Hewett, Pat Rafter, Woodford, Tennis Australia, fellow ATP players ETC. were all worried about a young guy going in the wrong direction (all of whom know him personally). They took a course of action that would be hard but make him face some decisions, he has admitted he needed to makesome of these changes. Hell, I'd recommend watching his post final press conference from last night. This guy is in a great place and doesn't appear to feel any hard feelings for anyone in Australia. I think most feel the same for him...

[Bartelby]

Tomic doesn't really want to be a part of Davis Cup and tennis is an individual sport and he regards his father and family as his key support and not TA.

It's a bizarre situation when people who want you to play a different sport - Davis Cup - are criticising you and then accepting credit when you turn it around.

Xenophobia does not come into it. It's more a question of Davis Cup being seen as patriotic whereas Tomic sees it as the sideshow it is esp. when you don't have a good team.

[Amelie Mauresmo]

Being patriotic does relate to xenophobia because the message of the Australian media is Tomic should "be like the other Australians" and not "be for himself." And if Tomic continues to reject this herd like Australian sports mentality he will get branded as being not Australian enough ect. Tomic is being treated as though he is an "other" an outsider not as though he's a "real Australian". I guess to be a real Australian, Tomic should not focus on what he wants in his career and just care about Davis Cup and BS like that. Tennis is an individual sport so Bernard Tomic should be focusing on his career Davis Cup shouldn't even be on the radar. Tomic should not ignore getting attacked in the media by other Australian tennis players. Tomic wasn't born in Australia and his parents are from the former Yugoslavia, but it seems to me in Australia when he wins he's Australian and when he doesn't do what the Australian tennis industry want he's a "foreigner" and the other.

The subliminal message from the Australian press about the who Davis Cup fiasco is that Tomic isn't be patriotic enough. But the bigotry of the Australian press needs to be challenged they come across as extremely racist. The so called Australian media attitude towards Tomic goes beyond just criticism it comes across as racist, insensitive, and xenophobic.

FYI Australia used to have a policy called the White Australian policy which banned Southern Europeans from immigrating to the country until the 1965.

[Hawkeye7]

This is what happens when you start winning. He's bringing it onto himself though. Sorry, I just can't bring myself to feel for someone who talks as much crap as he does. He should take a lesson or two in humility or just let his racket do the talking. And don't start telling me he's still young etc... he's my age.

It has nothing to do with xenophobia either. He should grow up, that's all.

[Bartelby]

It's too much of a jump to associate Tomic's media treatment with some sort of rampant xenophobia.

The fact is that he's not a team player and tennis is still at some level a national sport with a national team.

The White Australia Policy did not prevent mass waves of Southern European migrants till 1965. It prevented non-white immigration, mainly Asian.

Nineteenth century Australia was also actually muti-ethnic in composition.

[chandler bing]

Originally Posted by Amelie Mauresmo

Being patriotic does relate to xenophobia because the message of the Australian media is Tomic should "be like the other Australians" and not "be for himself." And if Tomic continues to reject this herd like Australian sports mentality he will get branded as being not Australian enough ect. Tomic is being treated as though he is an "other" an outsider not as though he's a "real Australian". I guess to be a real Australian, Tomic should not focus on what he wants in his career and just care about Davis Cup and BS like that. Tennis is an individual sport so Bernard Tomic should be focusing on his career Davis Cup shouldn't even be on the radar. Tomic should not ignore getting attacked in the media by other Australian tennis players. Tomic wasn't born in Australia and his parents are from the former Yugoslavia, but it seems to me in Australia when he wins he's Australian and when he doesn't do what the Australian tennis industry want he's a "foreigner" and the other.

The subliminal message from the Australian press about the who Davis Cup fiasco is that Tomic isn't be patriotic enough. But the bigotry of the Australian press needs to be challenged they come across as extremely racist. The so called Australian media attitude towards Tomic goes beyond just criticism it comes across as racist, insensitive, and xenophobic.

FYI Australia used to have a policy called the White Australian policy which banned Southern Europeans from immigrating to the country until the 1965.

I'm afraid your argument doesn't hold up to further examination.

Pat Cash and Lleyton Hewitt have copped as much criticism from the Australian media as anybody, and they are as Anglo as the day is long.

On the other hand, Aboriginal Evonne Goolagong is (still and to this day) one of the most beloved champions ever in Australia.

[Timbo's hopeless slice]

Tomic even played Junior DC for years, and has aready got an 8 - 2 singles record.

Rafter barely won 20 matches in his whole DC career because (gasp) he did not always make himself available.