Dubai: Bernard Tomic, one of two ‘bad boys’ in Australian tennis, wants to let his racket do the talking next season.
Tomic, who made his debut in the second season of the International Premier Tennis League (IPTL) for the Micromax Indian Aces on Monday, has had a consistent season and climbed to the No 23 spot in the men’s rankings. “I’ve had a pretty solid year and I could have finished perhaps at No 12 or 13. But what was even more important was that I had the consistency in my performances, and that aspect is very pleasing as I can build off those positives and look towards a better 2016,” Tomic said after his singles match with Philipp Kohlscreiber.
“I am just about getting the feeling of being on court again. The focus now should be to have a solid preparation and then start winning some of those big tournaments. The idea next season is to enter the top 10, and for this I need to start a really strong beginning with the Australian summer,” he added.
Like his Davis Cup teammate Nick Kyrios, the 23-year-old Tomic has had his moments of despair — the most recent ones being a night spent in an American jail cell followed by yet another disagreement with Tennis Australia.
However, the Brisbane youngster reckons those events belong in the past. “It will be a completely different approach to the new season. Come to think of it... we are barely two weeks away from the start of the new season. Some of these players who have been with their IPTL teams have had their best opportunity to use the IPTL and prepare for the new year,” Tomic said.
Tomic has featured in the annual Dubai Duty Free Men’s Open once in 2012 but had to retire due to injury. “Being here brought back a lot of memories. I love this tournament as it is one of the best ATP 500s on the Tour. I hope I can be back here soon,” he said.
“In the meantime, I am having fun with the IPTL. Last year I watched a bit of it on television, it is so similar to Davis Cup. I will try and enjoy this time I have with the team and then start the year strong,” Tomic added.
