Bernard Tomic managed to spice up an otherwise desultory opening-round loss to Bosnia’s Damir Džumhur with a profane riposte to a heckler on Tuesday at the US Open.
On-court microphones on the Old Grandstand court where the 17th-seeded Tomic lost 6-4, 6-3, 4-6, 7-6 (0) caught his response to an animated crowd member as Džumhur served for the first set.
“Suck my balls,” the 23-year-old Australian chirped, forcing his opponent to stop his service motion. “I will put my balls in your mouth.”
After Džumhur missed on his first serve, Tomic pressed on toward the heckler: “I will give you some money to make you feel good.”
Within moments Džumhur, who is ranked 74th in the world, took the first set. When it was over after 2hr 39min, a composed Tomic, who could face a fine for unsportsmanlike conduct, did his best to smooth things over.
“I apologised to what I said to him,” he said. “He definitely baited me the whole set for me to say that. But I do apologise. If there were people around that heard, yeah, that’s all I can say.
“I think after he left the first set, I think the crowd got happy he left because he was a bit annoying. But it’s okay.”
“It was the same sort of voice. He was just sort of saying negative stuff. I didn’t know who it was because I was just focusing on the court. It was tough to figure out in the background. It’s passed and I don’t really care who this guy is.”
When asked whether the heckler had been forcibly removed by security, Tomic was uncertain.
“I have no idea,” he said. “I just saw he left and the crowd clapped a bit. But I have no idea who he is. I apologised for what I said to him. I just continued to play after the second, third set and fourth.”
Tomic, the son of a Croatian father and Bosnian mother who immigrated to Australia when he was a boy, said a different group of hecklers on the other end were needling him in his language of Serbian-Croatian, but the microphones didn’t pick it up. He suggested an enforcement of basic etiquette to help avert situations like these moving forward.
“Golf, tennis, I think we respect one another and the crowd,” he said. “If you see golf tournaments, as well, on the side, no one’s yelling, no one’s talking. There’s a lot of quiet there before someone is hitting the swing or stroke. So is tennis. It’s a very respectful sport. We’re not boxers or MMA fighters that we rip into each other’s throats before the fight. It’s a very respected sport. I think it should be that way.”
When asked whether he thought he’d crossed the line with his remarks, Tomic diverted responsibility.
“I’d like to see what the microphone picked up what he said,” he said. “But that might not be possible.”
