Troubled tennis player Bernard Tomic was slammed by Australia’s media as “the king of the excuse” Monday with “a heart the size of a peanut” after his latest on-court antics at the Rome Masters, according to the AFP. Tomic, who made headlines last week "when he turned his racquet the wrong way to face a match point in the Madrid Masters first round against Fabio Fognini, lasted just eight minutes in his opening clash in Rome on Sunday." The world No. 22 retired after a medical timeout, and said that he had been "feeling bad all night." The Melbourne Herald Sun opined, "Desire, passion, fight and a strong work ethic -- all qualities you'd like to see in your emerging and established tennis stars. Instead, we’re treated to tantrums, arrogance, moods and at times utterly shocking attempts at justifying continual brattish behaviour." In a story headlined "King of the excuse," it added, "Yep, we're looking at you Bernard Tomic." Sydney Morning Herald columnist Peter FitzSimons said that Tomic was "embarrassing his country." He said, "You’re a man already with a reputation for having a heart the size of a peanut, one who has been given extraordinary talent, but no gumption to go with it, no ability to guts it out" (AFP, 5/9).
