SNAKES, spiders and disgusting challenges might be the least of Bernard Tomic’s worries in the South African jungle, with two contestants ripping into the Aussie tennis player during the show’s early stages.
Tomic shocked the nation when he signed up for Channel 10s I’m A Celebrity, Get Me Outta Here, just weeks after he failed to qualify for the Australian Open.
However Tomic on Monday night was considering walking away from the show, with a tough challenge prompting the tennis player to say: “I don’t think I can do it.”
After bursting onto the tennis scene as an impressive teenager then soaring to No. 17 in the world, Tomic has tumbled down the world rankings over recent years, recently dropping to as low as 168th.
Tomic admitted to The Project that he “(didn’t) love tennis” and hinted that he regretted getting into the sport due to the “grind”.
Minutes later on Celebrity, Tomic expanded on his thoughts.
“You guys have got to remember that I didn’t have a childhood, I didn’t have a life since I was eight, nine-years-old. I didn’t come from anything,” Tomic said on Monday night.
“I think people just don’t realise that tennis is a very isolated sport, it’s an individual sport — it’s not soccer or basketball where you can rely on your teammates.”
However Tomic’s comments weren’t met with warmth by fellow Celebrity contestants.
Jackie Gillies, from Real Housewives of Melbourne, pleaded with Tomic to grow up.
“I’m Croatian. I come from where your family come from,” Gillies said.
“Your dad and your mother made you f***ing work your arse off, you weren’t allowed to do anything — I know it, I get it because I grew up like that, OK?
“You’ve got stop using that as an excuse.”
Following a troubled year in which he missed Davis Cup while struggling with motivation and form, the 25-year-old recently claimed he “just count money, that’s all I do — I count my millions”. Those remarks sparked a chorus of criticism directed at Tomic, led by former US player Andy Roddick.
Last week, Tomic said he immediately regretted those comments, but confirmed on Monday night that he plays tennis “for the coin”.
“I definitely play for the money, especially the last six months,” Tomic said.
“Ever since I was young, I played for the love and respect and it just became a business since I was 17.”
But three-time premiership Hawk Josh Gibson
“I tell you what you need in your corner? You need someone who is going to keep you on track (mentally) and everywhere else in your life,” Gibson said.
“It’s going to start in here, it’s going to start with challenges, it’s going to start with doing s*** in the camp, it’s going to start with training with me.
“I’m going to push you, make you feel uncomfortable.”
Tomic agreed with Gibson that he needed fresh support, but argued “if I don’t want to do it, there’s no point in getting anyone, because I’ll go out and go party, do whatever”.
Tomic joked that his home town, Gold Coast, was the “best city in Australia-for old, retired people like me”, before saying he wouldn’t be happy if he left the sport now.
He added that the presence of tennis’ ‘big four’ — Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray — had hindered his climb up tennis rankings.
“I could’ve been top five, I could’ve won some slams if I would’ve played back 10 years ago, I would’ve been top three in the world. But now in the last 10 years, you’ve got these three or four guys that control the sport … there’s a lot of good players out there,” Tomic said.
Before departing for South Africa, Tomic suggested Australia couldn’t win the Davis Cup without him — a claim that was laughed off by John Millman.
“Sometimes Bernie just says stuff,” Millman said on Monday.
“Everyone’s entitled to an opinion and hopefully the boys can prove him wrong.”
