Bernard Tomic has labelled Australian tennis great John Fitzgerald the “worst commentator I’ve ever seen” in the wake of his second round loss at Melbourne Park on Wednesday.
Fitzgerald, who has previously coached Tomic at Davis Cup level, was heavily critical of the controversial Aussie in his straight sets loss to Canadian Denis Shapovalov on Court 3.
“You can’t tell me he’s trying,” Fitzgerald said in commentary.
“You think you have a lot of time ahead of you, but it’s gone in a flash. It’ll be a big shame if he can’t get more out of his talent.
“He’s got to be fitter, stronger, more dedicated. You can’t compete at this level, not with the best players, if you’re not.
“If you don’t have the miles in your legs you can hit a brick wall very fast. Because this guy (Shapovalov) has got miles in his legs. So do all the others.”
Tomic was asked in his post-match press conference whether Fitzgerald’s comments were too critical and didn’t hold back in his assessment.
“I mean, you know, of course it is (a bit harsh),” he said.
“But he’s probably the worst commentator I’ve ever seen in my life, as well.”
Tomic, now ranked 233 in the world, was forced to head to Doha last month to qualify for the Australian Open.
After sealing a spot in main draw, Tomic made it through to the second-round courtesy of his opponent Yuichi Sugita being forced to retire due to injury in the third set of their clash on Monday.
