Bernard Tomic tests positive for Covid two days after claiming mid-match that he was suffering from symptoms

ByHarry Latham Coyle

Published 13/01/2022 at 11:00 GMT

Tomic said that he was "sure" that a positive test result was imminent during his qualifying defeat to Roman Safiullin, offering to buy the chair umpire dinner if he was proved incorrect. The Australian has now tested positive after entering isolation after his match with Safiullin on advice from doctors.

Bernard Tomic has tested positive for Covid-19 two days after stating that he was "sure" he would during a mid-match rant during Australian Open qualifying.

Tomic was beaten by Russia's Roman Safiullin 6-1, 6-4 in the first round of qualifying on Tuesday and appeared to be suffering from symptoms of a coronavirus infection.

During a bizarre on-court tirade, the Australian criticised protocols allowing players to compete in qualifying without regular PCR testing, and said that he was certain he would soon record a positive test, offering to take the chair umpire out for dinner if he was proved incorrect.

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“I’m sure in the next two days I’ll test positive, I’m telling you,” Tomic said.

“I’ll buy you dinner if I don’t test positive in three days. Otherwise, you buy me dinner.

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“I cannot believe nobody’s getting tested. They’re allowing players to come on the court with rapid tests in their room. Come on."

Tomic subsequently confirmed that he had been advised to isolate by doctors, refusing post-match interviews and writing on Instagram that he felt "really sick".

“Feeling really sick. I’m now back in my hotel room,” he said on Tuesday evening.

Just spoke to the doctors on site and they’ve asked me to isolate. They couldn’t treat me yet to avoid contact.

“Thank you all for the support on the court today. I really appreciate it! I’ll do better next time. Very disappointed as I really wanted to make Aussies proud and perform well on my home turf.”

The 29-year-old, once considered one of the most promising young tennis stars, has seen his career stall in recent years.

Once a Wimbledon quarter-finalist (2019), Tomic is now ranked outside of the world's top 250 players after a controversial career that has seen him regularly accused of deliberately playing below his best to exit tournaments.

He missed all but two tournaments in the pandemic-disrupted 2020 season and has been beyond the first round of a Grand Slam only once in the last three years.

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