Tennis is a hugely cyclical sport, as proven most recently by Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner.
After all, with the era of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic dwindling, there was fear over who could possibly live up to such impossible expectations set by this legendary trio.
As is always the case though, new heroes like these two will always emerge. In particular, John McEnroe thinks the future of tennis is in good hands with this duo about.
However, across the history of the sport, there have been many tipped to do what these young superstars are achieving but failed to live up to expectations.
Arguably, few define that archetype more than Bernard Tomic.
Bernard Tomic set himself the ultimate goal at 14 years old
Destined for great things even as a young teenager, this Stuttgart-born Australian enjoyed a hugely successful junior career that gave way to the immense expectations placed upon his shoulders.
He won the prestigious Orange Bowl event as well as two junior Grand Slam titles, and thus had more than earned the hype that was building.
As a 14-year-old, he set himself an impossible goal to reach though, as he wrote on his website: ‘Ambition’: “No. 1 in the world and win all grand slams.’
However, he was aware that he needed to improve in a few areas, later stating in an interview: ‘I still need to find the serve of Ivanisevic and the groundstrokes of Federer. I’m halfway there with the mind of Sampras. I’ve already got the heart of Lleyton.’
Tomic was comparing himself to some of the greatest to have ever played the game as a relative unknown who had barely even left a mark on the sport.
Perhaps this was the beginning of the end of the 32-year-old, who dared to fly too close to the sun.
What is Bernard Tomic doing now?
He has still enjoyed a long career on the ATP tour, and still plays today albeit mostly at Challenger events.
Tomic boasts a career-high ranking of 17th, earned in the same year he reached the fourth round of the Australian Open. However, nowadays, he sits 219th in the world, having not played in the main draw of an ATP 250 event or higher in over a year.
It marks a sad downturn for the once-heralded youngster, who does have four career titles to his name.
Sadly, his career will likely be remembered more for the controversies rather than any triumphs he enjoyed.
In 2009 Tomic’s camp snubbed the opportunity to hit with Lleyton Hewitt, branding him ‘not good enough’. Three years later, he played that same trick with Dan Evans.
Regularly involved in confrontations with umpires and fellow players, the Aussie’s lowest moment arguably came when his father was sentenced to eight months in prison for head-butting his hitting partner in 2013.
He did not serve jail time but was banned from the ATP Tour for 12 months.
To go from a teenage sensation with so much talent to a controversy-ridden player stuck featuring exclusively at Challenger events marks one of the saddest wastes of potential in recent memory. It’s fair to say that 14-year-old Tomic’s dreams did not come true.
