Ready … Bernard Tomic is expected to front up at Roland Garros.
Source:
Mike Ehrmann / AFP
Bernard Tomic claims he’s been able to remain focused on his return to tennis at the French Open despite the drama surrounding his father and coach.
Tomic on Saturday appeared at a tour venue for the first time since John Tomic was charged with assaulting his son’s ex-hitting partner, Thomas Drouet, in Madrid earlier this month.
The 20-year-old hit the Roland Garros practice courts for an hour-long session with Serbian world No.10 Janko Tipsarevic.
There was no sign of John Tomic, who has had his credentials suspended for ATP events and the French Open, but Tomic confirmed his father had travelled to Paris with him and was back at his hotel.
Tomic appeared in decent form and good spirits during the session and he stopped to sign autographs afterwards.
The world No.59 insisted he was in a good frame of mind and optimistic ahead of his first round match-up against Romanian Victor Hanescu on Tuesday.
Start of sidebar. Skip to end of sidebar.
End of sidebar. Return to start of sidebar.
“I’m good. I’m hoping to do well, I’ve got a good match-up and hopefully I can win,” Tomic said.
Asked whether he had been able to remain focused on tennis Tomic said: “yeah, I have.”
The Queenslander has not competed since a first-round loss in Madrid and has been training at his Monte Carlo base.
He’s kept a low profile in the lead-up to the season’s second grand slam, skipping practice at the venue in recent days and he was not listed on the event’s official practice schedule on the eve of the tournament.
Doubts had lingered over whether he would compete in Paris since John Tomic suggested outside a Madrid courthouse he could skip the event.
The coach denies assaulting Drouet, claiming he was acting in self defence, and his hearing has been listed for October.
While Davis Cup coach Josh Eagle has offered to help mentor Tomic this week, Tennis Australia’s professional tennis manager Todd Woodbridge emphasised this week his father remained his coach and would be giving instructions remotely.
Tomic faces a challenging assignment against the 198cm Hanescu on his least favoured surface.
They have met only once before, in Dubai in February, when Tomic withdrew due to illness during the first set.
Should Tomic somehow conjure up a victory, he’d likely meet Ukrainian Alexandr Dolgopolov in the second round.
The tournament begins on Sunday with three Australian men in action.
Australian No.2 Marinko Matosevic has a horror first-up assignment against fourth seed David Ferrer while veteran Lleyton Hewitt faces 15th-seeded Frenchman Gilles Simon. Qualifier James Duckworth meets Slovenian Blaz Kavcic.