13 year old tennis prodigy

Turning Pro

Hall of Fame
Tennis prodigy power play
Leo Schlink
27feb06

0,1658,5114132,00.jpg

THE International Management Group's extraordinary largess does not usually extend to 13-year-olds.
Tomic set to cash in

But in January, Bernard Tomic and his parents John and Adi were invited to Melbourne for IMG's Australian Open party.
Not only were there centre court tickets at Melbourne Park, flights from Queensland and accommodation at Crown, there were the intangibles few other companies can provide.

Tomic was introduced to Maria Sharapova, Taylor Dent, Jonas Bjorkman and, best of all, shared a photograph with Roger Federer.

Tomic and his family were impressed. They were meant to be.

Within a few weeks, IMG expects to secure the services of a prodigy described as a tennis wizard.

If all goes to plan, and Tomic becomes the champion many people are forecasting, IMG will have turned an expensive exercise into a windfall.

As a student of past and contemporary players, Tomic has a strong working knowledge of the sport's elite and a fair idea of what makes champions.

And, after winning 75 tournaments in a career not yet six years old, Tomic covets the best of the best.

"I want the serve of Goran Ivanisevic, the heart of Lleyton Hewitt, the mind of Pete Sampras and the groundstrokes of Roger Federer," he said.

"I want to be No. 1 in the world and win all the grand slam tournaments."

Simple. If Tomic has been scripted, it is not apparent.

This is an astonishingly driven young athlete whose emigre family has survived a living hell as Croatian refugees.

Having spent four years in Germany waiting to move to Queensland, John Tomic declares Australia the best country in the world.

There is no suggestion of glibness. Gratitude is the currency.

By way of repaying his adopted country a favour, Tomic Sr wants his son to become an Australian Davis Cup player.

"But my biggest target is to build Bernard into a very good person," Tomic Sr said.

"He's a good athlete. He has everything. He's a natural. He can play any sport."

Mercifully for the talent-shrivelled ranks of the Australian game, Tomic chose tennis.

Now he is the most gifted and accomplished player of his age in the world.

His string of credits is long. Two wins stand out -- the Eddie Herr and the Orange Bowl. While many junior victories can be diminished by a number of factors, the time-honoured Florida tournaments have thrown up generations of world-beaters.

Disarmingly direct, Tomic volunteered his ambitions, anticipating a question he may be asked a thousand times.

"I want to be the youngest Australian Davis Cup player in history," he said.

Asked if he knew the youngest -- it's John Alexander (17 years and six months in 1968) -- he replied: "It will be me."

He recalled how two weeks ago he contested qualifying in New Zealand against a group of 18-year-olds. His goal was to reach the main draw.

He did, then reset his target.

"The second week, I said I wanted to win the tournament and I did without dropping a set," Tomic said.

"I didn't have an 18-and-under ranking before those tournaments. Now I have."

Tomic, who lists his favourite entertainer as Eminem, is not shy.

His mother, a bio-mechanical scientist, and father have kept a tight rein on the youngster Australian tennis is praying can keep developing.

John Tomic has no doubt his son can make it.

He recalled the first time Bernard hit the ball.

"It was a surprise to me," he said. "He had amazing connection with the ball.

"The feel and the spin that he had . . . he was a natural.

"He's won tournaments as a nine-year-old beating 14-year-olds. He's always been playing against older players. Now he's 13 and he's beating 18-year-olds. He has everything."

http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5478,18280674%5E3162,00.html

I think he'll burn out before his time comes.
 

Yours!05

Professional
Turning Pro said:
I think he'll burn out before his time comes.
Not necessarily. Lleyton was probably much the same. A lot depends on the parents. Will they be dazzled by IMG?
 

superman1

Legend
That's a lot of talk for a little guy. Prodigies his age of all types usually do burn out before they ever achieve anything. Einstein did poorly in school whereas some unknown former prodigies were Rubik's cube geniuses at age 4. But let's see...

He certainly will have to work on that humility aspect, though. Wouldn't be surprised if when he met Federer he said, "In a few years...I will crush you. And your family."
 

VGP

Legend
I'll try and remember his name....

...it'll either be,

"oh, yeah. Good to see his game develop."

or

"oh yeah, what was that kid's name again?"
 

armand

Banned
Wow, all these premature conclusions!
There was another young tennis player who threw tantrums, cried on court and gave half an effort because he thought his talent alone was enough to beat his opponents. Probably even worse things were said about him.
We all knew who he turned out to be.
But this Tomic kid is only guilty of being confident, driven and actually winning. What a crime.
 
D

Deleted member 6835

Guest
hmm i think he'll burn out before his time comes too... i mean, he sounds too overconfident. someone (i think you superman1) made a funny joke "someday he'll tell federer 'im gonna crush you and your family' " ROFL. thats probably true. kdis with attitude problems and skill, too common... lol

im only 15, but ive only been playing tennis for 8 months. i went to this camp and the coach there (a college player from somewhere in the states) said i was a natural. then some people who played me said ill be better than he was by the time im his age. so i just have to keep working harder and harder than what i am now.

you know, id rather be like that than have all the skill and win all the tournaments when im young and then blow it and be too overconfident and get burnt before i even reach the atp. its like being a favourite who falls or an underdog who gives it his all and wins.

all said and done, i will bet with anyone that this guy wont reach the top even 100 in the atp his whole tennis career. even his parents sound too overconfident and cocky. IMO

(hmm... i wonder if he's a member of TW, because then i think a lot of us will regret posting in this thread :D) i doubt it, im just kidding
 

ShooterMcMarco

Hall of Fame
How can hwe have groundstrokes like roger federer if he used an extreme grip? :p Best of luck to him, hope he continues to do well.
 
"Overconfident" ??

Sheesh, he's 13 years old. What do you expect him to say - "I want to have a solid career as a pro, and retire with a good bit of money"? "I want to have pretty good shots, not really the best in the world but good"?

No, he's 13, of course he's going to say "I want to be the best of the best at everything." That doesn't mean he'll burn out...
 

superman1

Legend
13 is old enough. A 13 year old who is on top of the world and overconfident has been born with a silver spoon and a velvet diaper. Most 13 year olds are completely insecure and confused about life and their bodily changes. "Ahh, I woke up this morning and there was hair where there shouldn't be hair! Oh well, I'm going to be a sports legend!"
 

jamauss

Hall of Fame
Whether he burns out or not, I'd have my suspicions. How come nobody has ever heard of this kid until now? (I'm assuming. I haven't.)

It's good to be confident when you're a young athlete. Sometimes just believing you should win is what will boost your play.

All I know about this is what I read from the article but, hopefully this kid makes it to the pros, otherwise it sounds like it will be a spectacular burnout. To win 75 tournaments by the age of 13 sounds pretty amazing though. It would be nice to see some footage of him playing.
 
IMG doesn't throw money away for nothing or give the VIP to just any shmoe off the street. They must think the kid has real potential to be investing money in him at that age.

Realistically, the kid is as much a longshot as anyone else is to "make it". A lot can happen between now and when he's mature enough to compete with pro level players.

It would be a great story if someone identified that young went on to greatness.
 

Skppr05

Semi-Pro
kids just being a kid right now. Sure he has some major predeictions for himself, but what's wrong with a little confidence? If he does burn out (which is my predection as well) then he'll learn from it and hopefully become a better player. Let's just hope he doesn't grow up to be a snot-nosed brat expecting everything to be handed to him. He reminds me of prince of tennis.
 

iscottius

Professional
No one on this board knows him, or has seen him play, yet alot of posters are predicting his burn out and failure,........... sad. This board has been increasingly disappointing me with it's negativity and bashing of players.

there is also a lack of tennis knowledge and credibility.
 

West Coast Ace

G.O.A.T.
I thought prodigy was like Tiger Woods going on the Mike Douglas show when he was 4. 13's almost middle age for a junior.

That grip is something else - at first I thought he was trying to hit it with the edge of the frame until someone pointed out that it was an extreme Western grip. :) I see wrist problems in his future.

Good luck to him. After these claims, if he didn't have a big bullseye on his back, he does now. One thing I remember from one of the books I read when I was a kid learning the game was to 'travel light' - don't talk much about your game, just go out and play and people will notice.
 

arnz

Professional
Sometimes investments pay off. I saw a documentary on Venus and Serena not too long ago. Rick Macci practically clothed and fed them, and trained them, in the belief that they would do good. CHA CHING!!!
 

VolklVenom

Semi-Pro
THE BIGGER QUESTion is, what has IMG to gain from all of this?
Wouldn't they as a huge company use the "wait and see" policy ?
I am more amazed by IMG's (devious) plans than the kids plans (which are normal for a 13 yr old).
 

fastdunn

Legend
Turning Pro said:
"I want the serve of Goran Ivanisevic, the heart of Lleyton Hewitt, the mind of Pete Sampras and the groundstrokes of Roger Federer," he said.

I think he picked the right ones in all departments.
 

arnz

Professional
Volklvenom, You really are wondering? IMG sponsors the kid, when he turns pro, wins tournaments, and make a lot of prize money plus endorsements, they make money. Just to let you in on a secret, his parents marketed him to IMG also, and are gonna run him like a business.

Same story, Agassi, Sharapova, the Williams sisters, etc.Don't imagine even for a moment that Mike Agassi, Yuri Sharapov, or Richard Williams didn't plan for all of this before their kids were even old enough to drive
 

superman1

Legend
Except Agassi didn't want to be anyone but himself. "I want the heart of Lleyton Hewitt!" Agassi created his own style of game and image.

But hey, this kid could be the next Federer. I'll be interested to see what becomes of him.
 

Amone

Hall of Fame
"He reminds me of prince of tennis."

That's an interesting analogy. Rather correct, actually... though, the difference being that Echizen started the series burned-out, and really just wanted to show up his father. So, maybe there are some parallels there, too?
 

Chadwixx

Banned
fastdunn said:
I think he picked the right ones in all departments.

Could you imagine that package with Macenroe's mind and volley?

Anyone know how big he is? If he is little that could explain the extreme grip.
 

arosen

Hall of Fame
I don't understand why these Donald Youngs and such put so much pressure on themselves by talking the talk all the time. Are they trying to secure the sponsorship or something? Sounds like setting themselves up for a disappointment.
 

VGP

Legend
Turning Pro said:
"I want the serve of Goran Ivanisevic, the heart of Lleyton Hewitt, the mind of Pete Sampras and the groundstrokes of Roger Federer," he said.


I guess he doesn't want to volley....
 
arosen said:
I don't understand why these Donald Youngs and such put so much pressure on themselves by talking the talk all the time. Are they trying to secure the sponsorship or something? Sounds like setting themselves up for a disappointment.

Because, at age 13, kids DREAM.

Nobody dreams of being "top 100". People dream of being the best.
 

jlui21

Rookie
superman1 said:
That's a lot of talk for a little guy. Prodigies his age of all types usually do burn out before they ever achieve anything. Einstein did poorly in school whereas some unknown former prodigies were Rubik's cube geniuses at age 4. But let's see...

He certainly will have to work on that humility aspect, though. Wouldn't be surprised if when he met Federer he said, "In a few years...I will crush you. And your family."

Love the quote! I hope to play this kid one day and crush him. I may be born in a decade earlier than he, but hopefully this old man (me) can beat this over-c0cky kid.
 

AndrewD

Legend
He's a local (Queenslander) so I've had the chance to see quite a bit of him over the last couple of years and, for a kid, he is already an excellent player. Pointless to say any more than that at the moment.

He gets a lot more press in the States than he does out here in Australia so it's surprising that few here have heard of him. Of course, I don't imagine the casual tennis fan bothers too much with junior tennis.
 

156MPHserve

Professional
I mean... I'll be he's really good, and I'm glad that he thinks he can volley because that SHOULD mean he's not just a baseliner?

The thing is... as a junior it's very hard to predict your success because usually, the ones who discover how to be a powerhouse first wins.

Juniors give away cheap points, are mentally weak, aren't anywhere NEAR the fitness level of adults, and have far less experience. It's much easier for one to step out and set himself apart unlike the Men's Tour, what Roger's doing is completely out of this world.
 

GregLynch

Rookie
i played him a couple of yrs ago it was 6-0 6-0 he moves very quickly and hits the ball dead centre of racquet i wonder what string he uses lol
 

GRANITECHIEF

Hall of Fame
Seems like the actual winner of the Orange Bowl in his age category the last two years should get as much or more press.
 

norcal

Legend
GRANITECHIEF said:
Seems like the actual winner of the Orange Bowl in his age category the last two years should get as much or more press.
That's what I was thinking. QF in the 14's as a 13 year old is not that impressive. DY won the Aussie Jr at 15 - that's impressive.

I do like his choice of food though:
Favourite Food: Lobster, Pizza
 

Andres

G.O.A.T.
VGP said:
I guess he doesn't want to volley....

Why would he need to volley?
Specially on his service games...

With Goran's serve, and Pete's mind... there's no chance.
What about Goran's serve and Roger's strokes :)

That guy is awesomeeee!!! Holy Cowwwww

ARGHHH I WANT GORAN'S SERVE!!! :mad:
 
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