After Loss, Querrey Complains About Tomic’s Use of Injury Timeout
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Version 0 of 1. WIMBLEDON, England — Bernard Tomic just doesn’t seem to be able to escape controversy, and his antics during his five-set win over Sam Querrey on Tuesday led to Querrey accusing him of unsportsmanlike behavior. On another day, Querrey would have won this match comfortably in straight sets. He had multiple chances in the opening two but missed five set points and lost both on tiebreaks. And while he fought back to push the match to a decider, Tomic’s decision to call the trainer for a bout of dizziness midway through the fourth set, slowed Querrey’s charge and allowed Tomic to regroup before going on to win, 7-6, 7-6, 3-6, 2-6, 6-3. “I’m pretty bummed,” Querrey said. “I definitely feel like I could have made the second week. I felt in control when I was up 4-1 in the fourth set with two breaks but then he got a headache, and I guess you can just take a 10 minute break. So that’s kind of annoying.” Querrey said he believes that the rules need to be changed to prevent players taking injury timeouts for what might be spurious complaints. “I feel like the umpire or referee should make a decision right away. Instead, he calls for the trainer, the doctor and then after however long it takes him to assess the problem they’ve already wasted 10 minutes. I knew he was kind of dizzy, that’s what they said but it’s a physical game and that’s part of it. "If you’re dizzy or you’re hurt you’ve gotta play through it, you can’t just take breaks. That’s not why I lost but I felt like I had the momentum and then it kind of went to a level playing field in the fifh. I’ll remember that one next time I have a headache.” Tomic blamed his dizziness on a relatively light breakfast after waking up without much of an appetite, and he disagreed with Querrey’s intimations that his conduct had not been in the spirit of the game. “It’s difficult,” he said. “He has to put himself in my shoes. You want to do whatever you can to feel good, give yourself the best chance of winning. If Sam says that, then that’s his opinion. I know if he was in my position, he would feel the same.” Tomic is without a coach at Wimbledon this year after his father, John, was barred from entering the All England Club, even as a spectator. He is accused of assaulting his son’s former hitting partner earlier this year. Tomic said the decision was handed out by the ATP rather than Wimbledon, and he was unhappy about the situation. For the time being Tomic is relying on his trainer and new hitting partner for support during matches. He said that he is planning to contact Wimbledon officials to try and get the ban overturned. “I’ll try have a word with them,” he said. “I know they’re very strict here. We’ll see what they say. It would be amazing to have my dad here watching me as a coach and a father, something that I want. Who knows in the next few rounds.” |