The panel of the Professor, the Judge, Paul Dalligan and Sarah Radlow talk with Leesa Catto about the new AFLW collective bargaining agreement. Paul Dalligan reviews round 12 of the NRL, the panel discuss the possible million dollar challenge tennis (or boxing) match between Nick Kyrgios and Bernard Tomic and they briefly look at the round of 16 for the men’s and women’s draw in the French Open.
Tag Archives: bernard-tomic
Friday musing – Tennis, Bernard Tomic’s career is a ‘sell’…..oh dear!
At 25, Bernard Tomic has accomplished much in the tennis world but with Tennis Australia choosing not to offer Tomic a ‘wild card’ entry
into the Australian Open field, his tennis career looks like it is on a very slippery, downward slope. Without automatic entry, Tomic has already indicated he had no interest in competing in the qualifying rounds.
Having attained his highest ATP tennis ranking of 17 in January 2016, he managed only eight wins after last year’s Australian Open causing a fall in the world rankings to #140. He has not played competitively since November 2017 and, after withdarwing from this month’s Brisbane International, we may have seen the last of Tomic at an ATP Tour or Grand Slam event.
If that is the case, then he will be like a number of young Australian tennis professionals who streak across the sky only to burn out in the heavy atmosphere that is the pro tennis circuit. Poise, 
composure, work ethic and tact are all qualities that go into making a good professional in any sporting field. After observing Tomic’s career, it is difficult to say he has any of those traits. One only needs to look at Tomic’s performance in a first round straight sets loss to Mischa Zverev at last year’s Wimbledon tournament and his petulant comments made at the aftermatch press conference to confirm this. It led to him being fined a record USD$15,000.00 by the All England Club for unsportsmanlike conduct after he admitted feigning injury during the match. He also told the press that he had felt a little bit bored and only played for the money.
If we have seen the last of Tomic, then I for one am not sorry to see him go. There have been many moments to celebrate in Australian
Tennis over the years, but Bernard’s career is not one of them. The Wimbledon fine may be the low point of his career but there have also been more cringe worthy moments than memorable victories. With the suggestion that he could be one of the mystery contestants in the next ‘Get Me Out of Here, I am a Celebrity’, his career is definitely a ‘sell’ option at the moment.
Weekend musing…..Lleyton Hewitt, more on the supplements scandal….
Well Thursday night we saw Lleyton Hewitt bow out of the Australian Open for the last time. I have never been a particular fan,
but you have to admire the guy. He made it to Number 1 in the world at 20, he won two Grand Slam titles and the most singles matches ever for Australia in the Davis Cup. You also have to admire that he has kept playing despite the many injuries he has endured and his falling ranking. A pretty good career and I think he will be good in his role with the Davis Cup.
Let us hope he can harness the potential of the likes of Tomic, Kyrgios and Kokkinakis.
I didn’t want to comment further on the Essendon Supplements Saga, however, some of the comments I have heard from some pundits suggesting that the case is similar to the Lance Armstrong and 
Marion Jones cases has angered me somewhat. In those cases there was a lot of people who provided sworn testimony that both had used banned substances, that is a significant difference to the Essendon case. I am also constantly angered with people saying they did not know what they took. The club has a spreadsheet on all the supplements that the players signed up to and the comment has always been if they were administered anything else, they were not aware of it and it was not sanctioned. This is a very important distinction.
What I would like to know is who advised the players not to complete the ASADA forms correctly. Clearly they were obligated to complete
those forms honestly and whoever told them not to cite the supplements they were being administered has a lot to answer for as this omission seems to have played a significant part in the penalty that has been applied.
I now pledge not to make any further comment on this sorry tale.
Have a great weekend!
A Sporting Chance #2 – Tomic, Tanking, Wimbledon, Kyrgios, Dawn Fraser
Sportzfan Radio has released another ‘A Sporting Chance‘ podcast. In this second episode, the Professor and John O’Callaghan discuss Bernard Tomic’s outburst, tanking, Nick Kyrgios and whether Dawn Fraser and Nick should sit down for afternoon tea and clear the air. Check it out on Soundcloud.
Aussie men’s tennis gets much needed shot in arm with Davis Cup win
Having languished in the doldrums for more than enough years (for that read since the mid 1970’s), Australian men’s tennis seems to be on the long road back. That recovery is evidenced not only in the better results during the recent Australian Open, but by the weekend’s 3-2 away win against the Czech Republic in the Davis Cup. Remember the Davis Cup? That trophy Australia has won on 28 prior occasions since it was first competed for in 1900. Recently we have not featured at the top level and even when we have, have usually come away empty handed. This is reflected in the fact that this was Australia’s first win in a Davis Cup tie in the Championship division since 2006.
We at Sportzfan Radio have been rather critical of Bernard Tomic’s seeming inability to keep his mind on the job and play at a level expected with a person of his talent. In Ostrava, Tomic certainly led by example and won both his matches giving him an impressive 14-2 win/loss singles record in Davis Cup play. The tie also saw the emergence of Thanasi Kokkinakis who won his first match and confirmed Australia can now call on a number of talented young players to champion the cause. Although Lleyton Hewitt was used in the doubles match with Sam Groth, Australia’s fortunes no longer solely rest on the ageing Hewitt’s shoulders.
Sure, it can be argued that the Czech Republic were weakened by injuries to Tomas Berdych and Radek Stepanek but Australia also was unable to select talented Nick Kyrgios due to a back injury.
A review of the men’s ATP rankings sees Australia with five men in the top 100 being Kyrgios at #36, Tomic at #38, Groth at #69, Marinko Matosevic at #72 and Hewitt at #98. Contrast this with the fact that several years ago, we did not have one player in the top 100 and it is easy to see why results have improved.
Australia now hosts Kazakhstan in a mouth watering quarter final and given the team’s form look set for a long run in the 2015 tournament.
Sportzfan Radio show #234.2
12 February 2012 234.2 – The Panel discuss the test series between Australia and India with the question being whether Australia has improved that much or was India that bad. Paul Dalligan feels it has a lot to do with new bowling coach, Craig McDermott. Even Sportzfan Stan gave the Aussies the thumbs up with a nine out of ten. Tennis is also on the agenda with a look at Australia playing China in a Davis Cup qualifier being played in Geelong this week. The Panel agree that Lleyton Hewitt and Bernard Tomic have the advantage over Ze Zhang and Di Wu. The Professor raises the question whether Australia will get back into the Davis Cup top 16. Mark Fiorenti comes on to discuss soccer, beginning with Sydney’s coach, Vitezslav Lavicka ‘resignation’ this week. Names rumored to replace him include Italian great, Gianfranco Zola, former Sydney FC player Dwight Yorke and Graham Arnold. There will be other coaching vacancies at the end of ther season and these are also discussed. Paul Dalligan looks at the pros and cons of Harry Kewell’s signing by Victory and whether it was a good thing. Internationally, England’s coach, Italian Fabio Capello, announced his resignation after the F.A’s decision to strip Chelsea’s John Terry of the England captaincy over racism charges during a Premier League match. In rugby league, Paul Dalligan was pleased that the independent commission is off the ground after four years in the making and he discusses the future of the ARL with the coming media rights negotiation.
Sportzfan Radio show #233.2
22 January 2012 233.2 – Daniel believes that signing Patty Mills was detrimental and had they not, the Tigers would have had more wins for the season and retained Darryl Corletto. James Upfill, a local baseball player for the Cheltenham Rustlers, joins the Panel to talk baseball and believes the future of the ABL mainly rests with the media coverage of baseball in Australia. Sportzfan Stan feels baseball in Australia is doomed because of the lack of grounds, players and supporters (a position he has maintiend since Day 1 of the ABL). Mark Fiorenti comes on to talk soccer and says his soccer predictions remain unfulfilled with the Melbourne Heart losing to Perth 2-1. Questions were raised about Besart Berisha being allowed to play after receiving a one game suspension against SydneyFC for challenging a player to a post game fight during last week’s game. Berisha scored the equaliser against Heart. Mark and the Professor have differing opinions regarding the Heart’s ability to survive with low attendance at games this year. The Panel look at the week’s Australian Open results and believe they were disappointing as only two men and no women remain in the tournament. With no Panel member predicting accurately the outcome of the past week, Daniel’s knowledge of the remaining players was tested while Stan decided to barrack for the home stars. The Professor predicts Tomic to win the men’s singles with Kim Clijsters ultimately beating Serena Williams for the women’s title. Paul Dalligan begins by endorsing the local baseball as the best sporting entertainment for the dollar before taking a whack at the Luxbet practices regarding a forfeited tennis match. He was pleased that the NRL’s Independent Commission is likely to start on the 10th of February.
Sportzfan Radio #208.2 3 July 2011
3 July 2011 208.2 – Mark Fiorenti thinks Harry Kewell will sign with Melbourne Victory. John O’Callghan is back for the second time for the year as a special guest. He advises that the annual Olive Branch Achievement Award has not been awarded again since it was given to Kevan Gosper. There is also a discussion about Father/Sons in AFL and in sport in general that is propmpted by an email from Chris from Barwon Heads. John O’Callaghan talks about the AFL players wanting more money and says their grab for more money is misconceived. Paul Dalligan comes on to talk NRL and State of Origin. He also talks about having the chance of sitting in the LA Dodgers press box during his recent US visit. He says he has heard more noises in doctor’s surgeries and libraries that in the press box. John looks at Bernard Tomic’s announcement that he is considering living in Monarco. He doesn’t believe that either he or any other athlete needs to pay back any money that has been put towards helping the athlete. Sean Callanan talks about his trip to the USA and assisting the Minnesota Timberwolves with a product known as Sports DP.