Tennis greats call Tomic 'an embarrassment'; racket brand Head drops player

  LONDON – "I'm a little bit bored." Australia's no. 2 player Bernard Tomic made the statement in a news conference in explaning his tepid play against Germany's Mischa Zverev at Wimbledon. He crashed out of the Grand Slam tournament on Tuesday after Zverev easily beat him in three sets in their first-round match. This as the International Tennis Federation (ITF) fined Tomic US$15,000 or 11,600 British pounds sterling – the second biggest fine for unsportsmanlike conduct. He was also dropped by racket sponsor Head. "I wasn't mentally and physically there -- I don't know why. I felt a little bit bored out there to be completely honest with you. You know I tried at the end and stuff but it was too late," Tomic said. "Holding a trophy or doing well doesn't satisfy me anymore -- it's not there," the 24-year-old Tomic added. Tomic didn't stop there. He went on to say: "I couldn't care less if I make a fourth-round US Open or I lose first round. To me, its the same. I know I'm gonna play another 10 years and after my career I won't have to work again." While pointing to his head, he said "so, this is mental." Tomic's explanation left a bad impression on former tennis greats. 1987 Wimbledon champion Pat Cash of Australia told BBC that Tomic "does not represent everybody, Australian players." "He can do a lot worse than that to ruin the image that we've created. But a lot of ex-players are cringing, Aussies, especially the guys who started this pro circuit. We wouldn't be here without these guys," Cash added. Rennae Stubbs, a six-time Grand Slam doubles champion also from Down Under, didn't mince words and said in a separate BBC interview that Tomic is "an embarrassment." "You're an embarrassment to yourself, and not only to the sport but to Australian tennis," she said. Australia has produced tennis greats, namely, Rod Laver, Ken Rosewall, John Newcombe, Lleyton Hewitt and Patrick Rafter. They collected 31 grand slam singles titles and helped the sport gain prominence in Australia while making a formidable reputation for Australian tennis worldwide. As far as nine-time women's singles champion Martina Navratilova is concerned, Tomic should just quit the sport. "It's disrespectful to the sport and disrespectful to the history of the sport. If you can't get motivated at Wimbledon, it's time to find another job. The spectators paid good money to come here and watch Wimbledon and the guy shows up and doesn't try, he can't be bothered. Just stay at home," she also told BBC. Meanwhile, the ITF also fined Tomic after he admitted that he called on his trainer not for treatment but to disrupt Zverev's momentum in the game. Racket maker Head, which sponsors Tomic, said the Australian's behavior was unacceptable so they dropped him. In a statement on its website, Head said: "We were extremely disappointed with the statements made at Wimbledon by one of our sponsored athletes, Bernard Tomic." "His opinions in no way reflect our own attitude for tennis, our passion, professionalism and respect for the game. Therefore, we have decided to discontinue our collaboration with Bernard Tomic," the company added. Tomic is currently ranked no. 59 in the world and last year, he was 17th. His best performance so far was at the Wimbledon in 2011 when, at the age of 18, he reached the quarterfinals but lost in four sets to Novak Djokovic. That time he was the youngest player to reach the quarterfinals since Boris Becker. 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