Lleyton Hewitt admits he is not sure why 33-year-old Bernard Tomic is still in pro tennis, but gives credit to the current world No. 182 for putting his ego aside and regularly competing on the lower-tier events.
Tomic, who was once considered one of Australia's brightest tennis talents and someone tipped to become the first Australian male since Hewitt to win a Grand Slam and reach the world No. 1 ranking, never fulfilled his talent - and it is well-known why.
After admitting to not giving his best and years of controversy, former world No. 17 Tomic plummeted to outside the top-800 at one point in 2022. But then, just when everyone thought that the four-time ATP champion would finally retire, something flipped in his mind and he started to first regularly compete on the Futures level - and then, after gradually improving his ranking - regularly switch to the Challenger Tour.
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This year alone, Tomic appeared in a total of 75 matches - posted a 42-33 record - and he is ranked just inside the top-200.
Hewitt asked why Tomic is still playing: I don't think anyone fully knows
Its a hard one I dont think anyone fully knows, Hewitt told The Australian.
Im not sure if he doesnt know what else to do, or if he still feels he has some unfinished business. Its a tough one, but youve got to take your hat off to him in terms of the places hes gone to, and the tournaments that hes been playing the last few years, compared to where he was at centre stage and playing the big names.
Hes still going out there and having a crack. He doesnt mind playing on backcourts. I spoke to him a couple of times this week, and I dont know what his plans are.
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Last week, Tomic had a quarterfinal outing at the Brisbane Challenger. This week, the former world No. 17 played at the Sydney Challenger, where he lost the opening set 4-6 to Hayato Matsuoka before retiring injured after just one point played in the second set.
