Tennis star violently attacked and kicked by two thugs outside tattoo parlour
Tennis star Bernard Tomic has been violently attacked outside a tattoo parlour
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Tennis star Bernard Tomic has been brutally beaten up by two men outside a tattoo parlour.
The Australian, who was once ranked as high as No 17 in the world, was seen being attacked in footage uploaded by Australia's 10 News First channel.
In the 16-second clip, the 30-year-old can be seen desperately trying to protect his face as his attackers launch a series of kicks while he lies on the floor.
It is unclear when the attack took place.
#Exclusive: Vision has emerged that appears to show tennis player Bernard Tomic being attacked outside a Gold Coast tattoo parlour. pic.twitter.com/BJmUVUWEHu
— 10 News First (@10NewsFirst) September 8, 2023
Tomic was recently in action at the Challenger Istanbul in Turkey.
He was able to sail past Skander Mansouri in the round of 32, beating his opponent 6-3, 6-4.
In the round of 16, however, he was then beaten 2-6, 6-3, 6-7 by Nick Hardt.
Tomic was once a tennis player tipped for a bright future after winning two junior Grand Slam singles titles.
He also won four ATP titles and made the quarter-finals of Wimbledon in 2011, where he'd go on to lose to eventual champion Novak Djokovic.
Tomic's career has nosedived since, however, and he was ranked as low as 825 in 2022.
The 30-year-old has been able to rise through the rankings over the past 12 months, though, and now sits at 292 in the world.
Tomic wanted to play in the Australian Open earlier this year but was eventually denied a wildcard entry to the tournament.
Tournament boss Craig Tiley explained the decision to snub the Aussie by saying: "One thing that's great is we've got a new problem - we've got a lot more Australian players to choose from, and that's a great problem to have.
"It's our performance team that look at the decision of wildcards.
"What it goes into is the player coming in, or the strength of their play, how they've been playing, what events they've been playing, how much they've been playing.
"Are they the younger part of our future generation, the younger players?
"There's many factors that go into it and it's not a quick decision they go through."
Tomic then reacted to his failure to make the tournament by saying: "I'm not expecting any favours.
"I'm going to prove my point and earn my way. I'm at a place in my life where I don't complain anymore.
"I'm focused and I've been training hard. I'll let my tennis do the talking.
"Last quarter of 2022 I won three tournaments and won four finals.
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Australian tennis star Bernard Tomic made the quarter-finals of Wimbledon back in 2011 where he lost to Novak Djokovic (pictured)
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"This year is my year. If no one is going to help support me, I'll get back to [the] top 100 on my own."