Bernard Tomic is one of the most talked-about names among modern Australian tennis players due to the combination of the young player's great natural talent and some controversial periods in his professional career. The player was born in Stuttgart and brought up in Australia, but he became known as the winner of the Australian Open boys' singles title and as one of the most impressive players in singles, whose highest-quality game can compete with the majority of rivals on the ATP Tour. People will remember Bernard Tomic as a talented tennis player of medium height with an impressive playing style and a fast game. The tennis fan is familiar with his low center of gravity, the ability to deliver a hard first stroke and the combination of good moments in his professional career with controversial periods related to a lack of motivation and fitness at a specific moment in time.

Career

In the period before Bernard Tomic, Australia produced a lot of great male tennis champions and Tomic became one of them. He was born on October 21, 1992 in Stuttgart, West Germany, and he has become famous for the high results achieved in junior competitions and on the ATP Tour. Being born in Europe gave the young man more chances to show his talent on the international level than most of his colleagues brought up in Australia. Bernard started his professional tennis playing at an early age, being very interested in the game and possessing the great hand skills required for professional competitions. It has been clear from early times that the boy has all chances to succeed on a professional level and make his career famous.

Early promise

It was impossible to miss the player's talent in the process of his growing up; however, it was his great successes on the tennis courts that drew people's attention toward the future Australian champion. Tomic won the Australian Open boys' singles title and the US Open boys' singles title in 2008. These titles provided evidence of his readiness for his first professional competitions. Besides, he has also played junior doubles games with Thanasi Kokkinakis (his junior companion on these competitions).

Being successful in junior games made people see Bernard as the next Australian male champion since the country has produced a lot of famous tennis players. Moreover, his playing style attracted special attention, as his play was more similar to that of more experienced players than most others. Bernard was not afraid to take the ball early and play with a fast rhythm, and this made him especially successful on fast surfaces due to his flat-hitting style. That is why Australians saw a chance in Bernard's personality that he would become a famous male champion and would inherit Australia's tennis heritage.

Breakthrough years

The wider world learned about Bernard Tomic in 2011, as during the tournament in Wimbledon the player showed great performance and reached the quarterfinals. People were amazed at the boy's maturity on the court and his ability to play above his level successfully. It showed the abilities characteristic of him – to make awkward situations for his opponents, to perform above his current level, and his potential was evident during this tennis tournament as well.

This victory played a very important role in the player's career, as after this moment the boy was seen as the player whose rivals would have to do additional preparation and think of special methods for beating Bernard. After that, he succeeded in other events, becoming closer and closer to the highest positions among professionals. Finally, in 2016 he reached a career-high singles ranking of world No. 17.

As Bernard was representing the Australian team in the international competitions in the team game, the player had a chance to play at the level of a professional champion of the country and it meant that his participation in these events was very valuable for Australian tennis. All these moments contributed to making him one of the key tennis players in his country. However, controversies accompanied Tomic's career because people had always had doubts concerning his motivation and commitment, as he was quite a popular person at a very early age because of his achievements.

Style and legacy

People liked Bernard's style of tennis. Although this young champion has become one of the popular representatives of the game on fast surfaces and grass, he did not belong to those players who prefer powerful strokes. His style of tennis was based on anticipating the moves of opponents and redirecting their plays. Moreover, the player has impressed people because of his fast game, as he was good at taking the ball early and performing a fast game with great precision. Besides, it was typical for him to use his low center of gravity in order to improve his playing performance. Tomic has impressed people a lot with his creative game that has been very unusual for this game at those times.

However, his style of tennis was one of the reasons for fluctuations in the player's professional performance. Those players whose game is based on the anticipation, redirecting of opponent's moves and fast movements on the court can show a great performance when it is easy for them to find their game rhythm but they can lose control and have some bad moments of play. Unfortunately, these bad periods had been characteristic of Tomic's performance at certain periods in his professional career.

The player could show great playing performance when it was convenient for him and when he was in a proper physical condition. Besides, criticism and injuries were also important causes of negative changes in his performance as a tennis player. It is very disappointing for fans to understand that although the great potential of the player was obvious at a very early age in his career, he had to face various problems connected with his health condition and lack of concentration or desire to continue to fight in tournaments and prove to be a good rival for the strongest professionals.