Tomic can’t ‘find any motivation’ at Wimbledon

Associated PressJul 4, 2017, 7:23 PM EDT

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LONDON (AP) After all the hard work and dedication it takes to get to Wimbledon, at least one player couldn’t be bothered with actually trying to win.

Bernard Tomic, a 24-year-old Australian who reached the quarterfinals at the All England Club in 2011, said Tuesday he “just couldn’t find any motivation” to compete this year.

“I felt a little bit bored out there,” Tomic said, “to be completely honest with you.”

Tomic was playing at Wimbledon for the eighth time. He lost to Mischa Zverev 6-4, 6-3, 6-4 on Court 14.

“I feel holding a trophy or, you know, doing well, it doesn’t satisfy me anymore,” Tomic said. “It’s not there. I couldn’t care less if I make a fourth-round U.S. Open or I lose (in the) first round. To me, everything is the same. I’m going to play another 10 years, and I know after my career I won’t have to work again.”

Tomic has won three titles in his career, the first in Sydney in 2013. He then won consecutive titles in Bogota, Colombia, in 2014 and 2015.

He has not advanced as far as the quarterfinals at a Grand Slam event since losing to eventual champion Novak Djokovic in 2011 – when at 18 he became the youngest man to reach the final eight at Wimbledon since Boris Becker defended his title in 1986.

Tomic, who reached a high of No. 17 in the world rankings in January 2016, entered Wimbledon ranked No. 59 after reaching the quarterfinals in Eastbourne, where he beat Zverev 6-3, 6-2 last week in the second round.

“Some weeks I play well and beat a bunch of players and do super well in tournaments … but now it’s a roller coaster, and I just can’t seem to find, like, the commitment to work hard, to enjoy (playing) and to lift trophies,” Tomic said.

Zverev broke Tomic late in the first set and again early in the second set, after which the Australian said he mentally “wasn’t there.” Tomic also admitted that when he called for a medical timeout, he did so to “try to break a bit of momentum” – although Zverev said later that he believed Tomic was injured.

“It kind of made it almost tougher for me, because I didn’t know what to expect, because between points he was walking slowly, and he definitely acted like something was wrong,” Zverev said. “But then he would still, you know – if the ball is within reach, he would still hit the ball hard, especially with the forehand, place it well, and hit a lot of winners.”

Zverev finished with 18 aces, compared to Tomic’s four. He also had 11 fewer unforced errors than Tomic, who committed 25.

“I feel like Bernie has been playing Wimbledon since he was about 11,” said Thanasi Kokkinakis, an Australian who lost to Juan Martin del Potro in his first-round match. “Maybe he’s bored. I’m not sure. I do know he’s skillful and hopefully he gets it together because he’s a good player.”

After acknowledging his lack of interest, Tomic was asked about whether he would give back his prize money because of his performance – a question he quickly shot down. He also disagreed with a suggestion that he didn’t give his best effort against Zverev.

“While I do feel a bit of guilt and I’m like, maybe I could have played four or five sets,” Tomic said, “in my opinion, he played well and I was just playing terrible and I just couldn’t find any rhythm, and he deserved to win.”

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More AP tennis coverage: https://apnews.com/tag/apf-Tennis

Jabeur bounces back at French Open, Ruud and Andreeva advance

Associated PressMay 30, 2023, 11:32 AM EDT

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PARIS — Ons Jabeur got a do-over on Court Philippe Chatrier at the French Open and won this time.

A year after her first-round exit, the No. 7 seed Jabeur beat Lucia Bronzetti 6-4, 6-1 to help erase some bad memories and answer questions about a recent calf injury.

The Tunisian, a crowd favorite in Paris, smiled and expressed relief in not repeating last year’s mistake, when she lost to Magda Linette of Poland.

“I’m very happy to win my first match on Philippe Chatrier – because I’ve never won here,” Jabeur said on court about the clay-court tournament’s main stadium.

Now she can focus on trying to win her first major. She was runner-up at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open last year.

The 28-year-old Jabeur has also battled injuries this season. She had knee surgery after the Australian Open, and was then sidelined with a calf injury. She had stopped playing against top-ranked Iga Swiatek at the clay-court tournament in Stuttgart, Germany, in late April and then pulled out of the Madrid Open.

“It was a very difficult period for me after Stuttgart,” said Jabeur, adding that she’s beginning to find her rhythm.

Jabeur struck 27 winner’s to Bronzetti’s seven, though with 24 unforced errors she’ll have room to improve.

Mirra Andreeva had a memorable Grand Slam debut by dominating Alison Riske-Amritraj 6-2, 6-1. Andreeva’s older sister – 18-year-old Erika – was facing Emma Navarro later in the day.

Later, Swiatek gets her French Open title defense started against Cristina Bucsa, who is ranked 70th.

On the men’s side, No. 4 seed Casper Ruud beat qualifier Elias Ymer 6-4, 6-3, 6-2, to remind the higher-profile tournament favorites that he was runner-up to Rafael Nadal last year at Roland Garros.

New mom Elina Svitolina beats seeded player at French Open in 1st Slam match in 16 months

Associated PressMay 30, 2023, 11:27 AM EDT

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PARIS — So much has changed for Elina Svitolina, who played – and won – her first Grand Slam match in nearly 1 1/2 years at the French Open, eliminating 2022 semifinalist Martina Trevisan 6-2, 6-2.

For one thing, she’s now a mother: Svitolina and her husband, French tennis player Gael Monfils, welcomed their daughter, Skaï, in October. For another, Svitolina is now ranked 192nd, nowhere near the career high of No. 3 she first reached in 2017, back in the days when she was regularly reaching the second weeks of major tournaments – including a pair of semifinal runs. Away from the courts, her home country of Ukraine was invaded by Russia last year, and the war continues.

“Everything,” she said, “is kind of old and new for me right now.”

In sum, Svitolina is juggling a lot nowadays.

She hadn’t played at a Slam since a third-round exit at the Australian Open in January 2022. She hadn’t played a match anywhere since March 2022, when she was still ranked 20th.

“It was always in my head … to come back, but I didn’t put any pressure on myself, because obviously with the war going on, with the pregnancy, you never know how complicated it will go,” the 28-year-old Svitolina said.

The work to return to the tour after giving birth began this January; her initial WTA match came at Charleston, South Carolina, in April. She won her first title since returning to action, at a smaller event on red clay in Strasbourg, France.

At Roland Garros, she used her big forehand to compile a 20-12 edge in winners and never faced a single break point against Trevisan, who was seeded 26th.

Trevisan cried as she spoke after the match about a problem with her right foot that made it difficult to even walk and prompted her to stop playing during her quarterfinal last week at the Morocco Open, where she was the defending champion.

Still, she gave Svitolina credit.

“Even though she’s just coming back from having a daughter, she’s a champion,” Trevisan said. “And she’s coming off a title, so she’s confident.”

Svitolina talked about feeling “awful when you’re pregnant, especially the last months,” but getting into a position now where she thinks she’s stronger than before – in more ways than one.

“I feel that I can handle the work that I do off the court and, match by match, I’m getting better. Also mentally, because mental (state) can influence your physicality, as well,” she said. “I tried to find the balance, and I feel like I’m seeing (things) a little bit again differently as well after the break. Everything is getting there. The puzzles are getting slowly into place.”