Bernard Tomic’s infamous response to one of the spectators at the US Open has landed him with a $10,000 fine by the International Tennis Federation.
During his first round match against Bosnian player Damir Dzumhur, the Australian was heckled by a member of the crowd during the match. Clearly angered by the individual, the Australian was caught on camera saying some foul-mouthed comments.
“I will put my balls in your mouth,’ was the start of his remarks.
“I will give you some money to make you feel good.” he added.
To Tomic’s credit, the world No.19 did apologise for his comments during his post match press conference. He said that the member of the crowd ‘baited him’ throughout one set of the match.
“I apologised for what I said to him,” he said. “He definitely baited me the whole set for me to say that. But I do apologise. If there were people around that heard, yeah, that’s all I can say.
“I think after he left the first set, I think the crowd got happy he left because he was a bit annoying. But it’s okay.”
Despite Tomic’s apology, it didn’t prevent the ITF for sanctioning him for ‘unsportsmanlike conduct’ following his actions on Tuesday. The fine equats to almost 25% of what Tomic earned during his 2016 US Open campaign. Losing in the first round, the 23-year-old made just $43,313 during his time in New York.
It isn’t the first time this year that Tomic has been marred by controversy. During the Madrid Open in May, he was accused of tanking during his match against Fabio Fognini, an accusation that Tomic firmly denied.
I can’t stop looking at this. Match point. pic.twitter.com/tJ3wqufcZj
— Courtney Nguyen (@FortyDeuceTwits) 3 May 2016
Shortly after that incident, more eyebrows were raised when he brushed aside the criticisms and said “I’m 23 and worth over 10 million.” He later regretted those comments and apologised.
