Earlier this week Bernard Tomic said he is often ‘misunderstood’ by the public and world No.2 Andy Murray agrees.
Often branded as the ‘bad boy’ of tennis alongside Nick Kyrgios, Tomic doesn’t have the same reputation off the court according to Murray. Speaking about the Australian following his semifinal win over Marin Cilic, the world No.2 two called the 23-year-old ‘polite and fun.’
“I have always gotten along with Bernie in the past. He is always fun.” Murray said.
“Bernie is really nice. He doesn’t ever have a bad word to say about anybody and doesn’t cause any problems with any of the players.”
Murray’s account of Tomic is a very different to the one read in the newspapers. This year Tomic was accused of tanking at the Madrid Open, an accusation he has denied. Unfortunately the Australian isn’t the best of handling his PR. Instead of letting the controversy go, he sparked further uproar when he said ‘I’m 23 and worth $20 million’ when asked if he was bothered by the incident.
The reason for Murray’s complementary remarks towards Tomic is partly because he has experienced the same as the Australian. Growing up under the watchful eyes of the media is never a simple task, especially for somebody carrying the hopes of a nation. Even now Murray admits that he is still struggling to control his own emotions on the court.
“The thing I need to improve is to try and not allow myself to get frustrated. It’s something that I have been working on for a long time. It is much better than it was, but it could still be better.” he admitted.
History beckons for Murray
Regardless of Murray’s ongoing battle to contain his emotions on the court, the world No.2 now finds himself in his fifth final at the Queen’s Club. A win over Milos Raonic on Sunday would secure his place in the tournament’s history books, a motion that would mean a lot to the Brit.
“It would mean a lot, a lot of great players have played here.” he said about the possibility winning the tournament for the fifth time.
“A lot of great players have played there over the years and winning any tournament a few times is obviously hard.”
Murray currently leads Raonic 5-3 in their head-to-head. Sunday’s final will be their first meeting in the final of a tournament and their third this year.
