The two highest ranked Australian players on the men’s tour has failed to make the shortlist for the prestigious Newcombe Medal.
The Newcombe medal is the highest award given to Australian tennis players in recognition of their performance, achievements and contributions throughout the season. The medal is named after 7-time Grand Slam champion John Newcombe. The players shortlisted for the medal are decided by a panel consisting of former tennis players and respected individuals associated with Australian tennis.
It is has been confirmed that Nick Kyrgios and Bernard Tomic has failed to make their list due to their controversial antics during this season. Earlier this year Kyrgios was handed a six-month suspended sentence and a hefty fine by the ATP following controversial comments he made during his match against Stan Wawrinka at the Rogers Cup. The 20-year-old was caught on camera saying ‘Kokkinakis banged your girlfriend’. The Australian was also accused of deliberately tanking during his fourth round match against Richard Gasquet at Wimbledon, an accusation he denies.
Disregarding the controversy, the world No.30 ends his season with a win-loss of 24-19. In May Kyrgios reached his first ATP final at the Estoril Open. During the Madrid Open he stunned Roger Federer in the second round of the Madrid Open. Towards the end of his season Kyrgios also reached the semi final of the Malaysian Open.
An even more surprising omission was Bernard Tomic, who has won forty matches on the tour this season including the Bogota Open in Colombia. Last month Tomic achieved a career ranking high of 18th in the world, making him the highest ranked Australian male player since Lleyton Hewitt in February 2008. Beside his triumph in Colombia, Tomic has reached the semifinal at one other ATP tournament, which was at the Delray Beach Open.
According to his season, Tomic appears to be an unquestionable candidate for the Newcombe medal, however, his chances of winning the award has been destroyed due to his off-court antics.
Tomic was suspended from Australia’s Davis Cup clash against Kazakhstan earlier this year due to his comments about Australian tennis officials. During his post-match interview at Wimbledon, one of the officials that Tomic was critical of was Pat Rafter.
“If the Australian public don’t know Pat, he’s a good actor, he’s well-spoken, always prepared and knows what to say. He’s prepped by Tennis Australia to know what to say”. Tomic said.
In July Tomic was arrested by police in America following a confrontation between him and the Miami Beach Police at the W South Beach hotel. The 23-year-old was asked to leave the hotel after refusing to turn down the music in his room. Three months after the incident, the charges were dropped against him.
The players to make the shortlist for the medal are Samantha Stosur, Thanasi Kokkinakis, Sam Groth, Casey Dellacqua, John Peers and Dylan Alcott. Wheelchair player Alcott is the first disable player in history to be nominated for the medal. The winner will be announced on November 23rd.
