Tomic was already feeling limp and sluggish during the game. After the match, he announced on Instagram: “I’m very badly. I’m now in my hotel room.” According to his own statements, the 29-year-old felt his pulse as soon as he changed sides in the first sentence.
Despite his feeling of illness, he completed his qualifying match, although he apparently already feared a corona infection. “If I don’t test positive in the next three days, I’ll invite you to dinner,” he said in the direction of the referee and continued: “Otherwise you’ll invite me over!”
The tired looking Tomic defeated the 24-year-old Safiullin in just 57 minutes 1: 6, 4: 6. He lost the first set in the Kia Arena in Melbourne after less than half an hour.
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For Tomic, the qualifying duel was the first match since September. At that time he had given up at the ATP tournament in Kazakhstan in the first round against the American Maxime Cressy.
Tomic complains against corona controls
He posted an update on his health on social media after the Safiullin game. “I have just spoken to the doctors. They have asked me to isolate me. They have not yet been able to treat me because they have to avoid contact,” wrote the scandal professional.
The trigger for the outburst was apparently the displeasure with the allegedly lax controls of the players in the vicinity of the Australian Open. “I can’t believe that nobody is tested,” the 29-year-old raged on the court.
“They allow players to come onto the pitch after just doing quick tests in their rooms, not official PCR tests. That’s unbelievable,” grumbled Tomic.
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