|
|||
|
|||
|
 |
|
|
WIMBLEDONJune 29, 2013Bernard TomicLONDON, ENGLAND B. TOMIC/R. Gasquet THE MODERATOR: Questions, please. Q. What does this win mean for you right now with the struggles you've had the past month? Is it different? BERNARD TOMIC: I'm very, very happy. It's a huge win for me. You know, I played very well today, and I needed to against Richard. Last two times he beat me, unfortunately. This time I was very happy to win. But I played very good tennis. Q. We've heard a lot about the situation with your dad. Has being here on your own given you an extra sense of maturity, you're sure you can do it on your own? BERNARD TOMIC: You know, i respect the question. If we could not talk about that, I've said what I needed to say. We'll answer the question that I am on my own now. But that's the situation here. I'm playing very well. I'm feeling very happy. Nothing's bothering me. So I'm going to keep the routine and what I'm doing up. Can't ask anything more from myself. Q. Even though your father is not here and you're winning these kind of matches, there's probably no need for him to be here, is there? BERNARD TOMIC: No, I think what you guys don't see is that, you know, here at the Grands, it's something different. When I leave the Grands and go somewhere different, you don't see what I'm doing with my dad. I could be practicing, I could be working on stuff. You see the results, but you don't know exactly what's happening. It's not a good question to ask. Q. What are you doing with your dad then? BERNARD TOMIC: Nothing. It's just something that shouldn't be asked, I think. You don't say that, all right, that your father's not here, you're doing very well, do you need him, don't you need him. That's not an appropriate question to ask because he's my dad. You know, it's family. I'm going to stick by that. Q. To put it positively, you're suggesting he's got a more positive influence on you than we're understanding. There's your opportunity to explain that a little bit for us. BERNARD TOMIC: Yeah, well, you know, when I have my time off, when I leave the site, I'm with my dad. He's helping me at this tournament. We're doing the right things. This is why the results are showing off now. I'm not doing it on my own. My dad is still involved. That's why I've gotten to where I am in this tournament and the results have shown. Q. Have you spoken to anyone what it would be like to play on Centre Court today? BERNARD TOMIC: No, I didn't speak to anyone. They happened to put me on. It's an amazing feeling to play on this court because it is the most prestigious court in our tennis world. Very happy to get the position to play on this court. I played well against Richard. Q. You always seem to produce your best tennis at the big events. What is it about the Grand Slams that brings the best out of you? BERNARD TOMIC: Well, obviously you want to do the best at these big tournaments. You know, I like playing at the Grand Slams. I feel like, you know, I get my training periods ready for these Grand Slams, give myself the best chance of playing well at these tournaments. You know, I love playing in Melbourne. I love playing here. I just feel good on grass. The whole Wimbledon thing is very good to me. I've always been, you know, happy playing here. I think that's why I play very good tennis here. Q. Did you get a chance to see your sister's match? BERNARD TOMIC: No. I managed to see my sister, though. I think she had a little problem with her ankle. She's playing doubles as well. If I had the time to go see her, I'd love to. Now it's just at a stage where I have to recover, get everything ready for my next match. I was happy to see my sister supporting me today in my box. So it's a very good thing. Q. (Question about his sister's ankle.) BERNARD TOMIC: I spoke to her. She said she had a little scare. She's feeling her ankle. She couldn't really move. You know, I didn't talk a lot with her. I think I'll go to dinner with her and have a chat with her. It's okay. She managed to play. If she's a bit injured, that's that. Q. Did you ring dad straight after? What did he have to say? BERNARD TOMIC: Yeah, I called my dad. He was very happy. You know, obviously to beat a player like Richard is not easy. He is playing very good tennis ‑ probably his best year so far since he was top 10 back four, five years ago. I talked to my dad. He said I did the right things to have a chance of beating Richard. Yeah, now I'm playing someone, you know, different, Tomas Berdych, who is a very, very good player. I'm going to have to study up on that, work with my team and my dad to give myself the best chance of winning. Q. Australian sport has had a bit of schtick recently from this country. The rugby team beat the Lions today. You've won your match, and it looks like Sam is going to win her match. Do you think it's been a good day for the Aussies? BERNARD TOMIC: Yeah, for sure. I'm very happy the way the day's turned out. Very good stuff to Laura. She won her match. Wasn't easy. I think she was losing pretty comfortably in the first set. To turn it around for her was very good. If Sam can win now‑‑ she's playing. But who knows. It's been an amazing tournament so far for a lot of players. Got to take what you have ahead of yourself. Q. Were you aware of the rugby result? Did you have any interest before you took to the courts? BERNARD TOMIC: No, I saw a bit in the locker room. By the time I went on, they were still going. I heard the news after, which was, yeah, good stuff. Q. You were asked afterwards about the Lions. The interviewer got confused about the Brisbane Lions. What was going through your mind at that point? BERNARD TOMIC: Yeah, well, I was still happy about the match that I won. I wasn't really focusing on the question when they asked me. I immediately thought it was the Brisbane Lions. Don't know why (laughter). Later I came to realize that it was the Rugby Union. Q. You said you called your dad right after the match. What is it like for you when you're out there, one of the biggest matches in your career, you look up and you don't have your dad there? What do you feel? BERNARD TOMIC: Well, it's difficult, like I said before. It's hard. It's not the same feeling. You know, I'm trying as much as I can to push through it, to play these guys. I'm doing well at it. But the main thing is I'm having fun. I'm trying to relax as much as I can. In the year 2011, I had nothing to lose, I really stepped up and played really good. Now I'm feeling very similar. I'm going to keep this up, relax on court, have fun, see where it takes me here. Q. You mentioned Berdych. Can you describe the challenge of facing him. BERNARD TOMIC: Yeah, uhm, you know, I managed to watch a little bit of the match after. I think Anderson was up, should have closed out the fourth set. Tomas played good to break back. I think his record is 9‑0 now against Kevin. It's not easy because Tomas is very strong. He hits a big ball. You've got to be ready. I think I can use what I have, you know, and really give it to him because I think if I play my tennis, he's not going to like what I have to offer. Q. Did you hear the applause or some of the noise coming from Court 2 with Laura? Did you realize what was going on when the Centre Court broke out into a cheer? BERNARD TOMIC: Yeah, for sure, I realized that Laura won. No, it was good for her. She's young, as well, like myself, doing very well. It's good to see young people doing well. In this sport, it's very difficult to mature and get these sort of results at a Grand Slam at a young age. I'm happy I'm doing well and very happy for her, as well. Q. Did it break your concentration at all? BERNARD TOMIC: Yeah, a little bit. At that time you're really just focusing on the match. It's tough. A gunshot could go off. You don't really care. You just want to win the match, focus on the match. Q. What do you think was the key today to beat Richard? BERNARD TOMIC: Well, I knew I had to stay in the whole match with him. He is one of the fittest players out there. He can do the same thing over three, four, five hours. I had to stay with him the whole match. I was holding comfortably. He was holding comfortably. I took my chances at the right time. Maybe I had a chance in the second set to win the second set with three set points, but unfortunately he played good tennis to get out of that. I felt like I was very solid, served very well. Q. I know you take a lot of interest in other sports. Do you follow the Tour de France? Are you aware that the Australian team won the Tour de France stage today and caused massive disruption? BERNARD TOMIC: That I didn't know. Thanks for bringing it up. I'm sure I would have come across it somewhere today. Very good to hear that. Q. Are you following the Australians in the Tour de France? BERNARD TOMIC: I haven't met Cadel or any of those guys. It's good to see any Australian doing well. I think especially with the Socceroos winning as well, that was very good. It's always good to see Australians doing well. Hopefully Sam can win, as well. Q. I know you said there's no point asking to let your dad go back in. If you were to go deep, quarters, semis, whatever, would you try again? BERNARD TOMIC: Yeah, well, maybe my dad is watching. Maybe you guys just can't see him (laughter). Q. Is he sneaking in? BERNARD TOMIC: No, for sure. I'm going to approach this match as best as I can, try to win. After that, we'll see. For sure, good question. Q. Do you think he was on court today? BERNARD TOMIC: Well, you don't know with my dad. You just don't know. He could be there (smiling). Q. Potentially set up a clash with Novak. Is that something you're working towards, given 2011, also Hopman Cup earlier this year? BERNARD TOMIC: For sure. But I'm playing a guy now who's been in the finals of this tournament before. It's not easy. This guy can beat Federer, can beat Novak, can beat everyone. It's not easy playing this guy. I've got to be ready. If that match comes across, it will be huge. I can't think ahead of myself, especially playing against Tomas. Q. Can we have a Lions prediction for next week? BERNARD TOMIC: We'll have to wait and see. We'll have to wait and see. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
|
||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
About ASAP Sports •
FastScripts Archive •
Recent Interviews •
Captioning •
Upcoming Events •
Contact Us
FastScripts | Events Covered | Our Clients | Other Services | ASAP in the News | Site Map | Job Opportunities | Links |
|
ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297
|