Drouet's account of working with the Tomics

Fedinkum

Legend
Tennis dads of our bright kids (Philippoussis, Dokic, & Bernard) are either real nut jobs or not very good at media relation. So much bad press around these talented kids. It is distracting their career and development. This is becoming a pattern, very disappointing.
 

Moz

Hall of Fame
You think Bernard comes across okay in this?

It's basically an account of 3 extremely pathetic men. The father, the player and the author who didn't have the courage to stand up for himself.
 

Fedinkum

Legend
I am not a fan of Bernard personally, I do question his professionalism, but he sure was a talent. I do feel for him having a maniac dad (at least from what I read).
 

PhrygianDominant

Hall of Fame
You think Bernard comes across okay in this?

It's basically an account of 3 extremely pathetic men. The father, the player and the author who didn't have the courage to stand up for himself.

Aren't you being a little harsh on the author? This is a guy with an ex wife and child to pay for and only one marketable skill, who ended up in a really difficult situation. I was also frustrated by the situation with John in the author's account but in the real world speaking your mind and telling people off doesn't get you anything. It may make you feel good for a second but that's about it.
 

Moz

Hall of Fame
I don't think I'm being too harsh - he put up with things that nobody should have had to put up with and did it for far too long. Where was his dignity?

It actually took a physical assault on top of the months of emotional abuse to force him to do something. A headbutt seems to be the only thing that brought him to his senses.

He states his earnings of 1000 euro per week, minus all the costs he then started to bear that he wasn't reimbursed for. A player of his standard could earn that as a coach and work anywhere at the drop of the hat. Hell, he might even be able to earn that playing in the German leagues.
 

sureshs

Bionic Poster
It should be an eye-opener to those who constantly complain about the "frivolous" nature of lawsuits and of "rights" in the US. A low-life like John Tomic would be bankrupt and in jail in the US, like he should be. He is a perfect example of the kind of person that someone has to defend himself from based on his rights and freedom to sue.
 

President

Legend
No wonder Tomic hasn't broken through yet, he is obviously by far the most talented guy in the new generation (Dimitrov and Raonic don't come close IMO) but his lack of professionalism is astonishing. Hopefully he doesn't become another Gulbis.
 
Tomic Senior is the only guilty party.

Agreed with this.

Abusers are very, very good at manipulating people into putting up with abuse. Don't blame the victims, blame the abuser.

I feel bad for Bernard. He could have been a great player, but when your own father is basically sabotaging your career, it would take a superhuman effort to overcome htat.
 

beernutz

Hall of Fame
After reading those articles I would happily contribute to a gofundme campaign to get Drouet the best civil attorney money can buy in order to sue the bejesus out of John Tomic.

Edit: After some further reading it appears I'm too late. Tomic was found culpable for Drouet's injuries and ordered to pay $300,000 Euros in compensation. Not nearly enough imo but at least a start.
 
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Gonzalito17

Banned
John Tomic should be institutionalized for 5 years minimum.

Bernard Tomic is a great player who is unfortunately cursed by a crazy father. There is no way he can overcome the curse of his father and fulfill his huge potential.
 

Rjtennis

Hall of Fame
John Tomic should be institutionalized for 5 years minimum.

Bernard Tomic is a great player who is unfortunately cursed by a crazy father. There is no way he can overcome the curse of his father and fulfill his huge potential.

For sure!

It's interesting to me why Tomic was ever so incredibly hyped. His serve is bad for his height, his forehand is funky and he doesn't move that great. Besides that he doesn't compete well. He is looking like a solid top 20-40 career type player to me.
 

Gazelle

G.O.A.T.
Tomic most overrated mug ever. No forehand, no serve, no movement, no mental, no professionalism. Will never amount to anything, except to insane levels of arrogance.
 

TheRed

Hall of Fame
I am not a fan of Bernard personally, I do question his professionalism, but he sure was a talent. I do feel for him having a maniac dad (at least from what I read).

Here's the Tomic "talent" myth again! His "talent" is two things: nice hands and he's tall. He's slow, has no power on any wing, and has a serve that would be very good if he were 5' 5" but is a pretty crappy serve for someone his height. He's got lots of tricks, which makes him excellent at being annoying and by virtue of his length, has somewhat decent power. That's pretty much it. He's the type of player that a top 15 player says to himself, "If I don't let him annoy me too much, I should kill him." Frankly, even his trick shots aren't that special. Most top pros can do all the trick shots he does but they don't because it's not a long term solution to moving up the rankings.
To me he's just a taller and more annoying Donald Young.
 

jg153040

G.O.A.T.
Tennis dads of our bright kids (Philippoussis, Dokic, & Bernard) are either real nut jobs or not very good at media relation. So much bad press around these talented kids. It is distracting their career and development. This is becoming a pattern, very disappointing.

Tennis is 1% talent and 99% brilliant father :).
 

norcal

Legend
That's awesome he got on with Bartoli right before she won Wimbledon. Working for the Tomics sounds like a nightmare.

This, however, cracked me up:

"Bernard just looks at me blankly and asks "who is Morpheus?". He thinks it is a girl at the tournament."
 

Sander001

Hall of Fame
Couldnt' even tolerate reading all of part 1. But even just reading that bit, i think i'm a Tomic fan now. How he can play with that pos on his back is a real accomplishment.
 
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