EXCLUSIVE

UPDATE: BERNARD Tomic has been dumped by racquet sponsor Head in the fallout from his $20,000 fine for admitting he was bored at Wimbledon.

The Queenslander was stripped of the Austrian company’s lucrative backing after grand slam officials slugged Tomic with the second-largest fine in Wimbledon history.

Tomic was charged with unsportsmanlike conduct after confessing he struggled with motivation in a straight-sets loss to German Mischa Zverev.

The $19,725 fine will be deducted from Tomic’s prizemoney cheque of $64,000.

It is the largest fine meted out by Wimbledon officials behind Fabio Fognini’s $26,400 for the Italian’s 2014 tantrum here.

media_camera Bernard Tomic has been fined almost $20,000 for faking injury during his first round loss to Mischa Zverev.

Wimbledon officials confirmed Tomic was fined for his media interview comments and not for calling for a trainer when he wasn’t injured.

In a statement, Head said: “We were extremely disappointed with the statements made at Wimbledon by one of our sponsored athletes, Bernard Tomic.

“His opinions in no way reflect our own attitude for tennis, our passion, professionalism and respect for the game. Therefore, we have decided to discontinue our collaboration with Bernard Tomic.”

Grand slam officials hit Tomic with the tournament-topping penalty after assessing video and transcript of his post-match interview on Tuesday.

Tomic said he would appeal the penalty.

“I was being honest,” he said.

“People the fine is for calling for the doctor, but it’s not. I don’t think the fine is fair.”

In a long and rambling post-match interview, Tomic said: “I don’t know why, but, you know, I felt a little bit bored out there. You know, to be completely honest with you.”

The “bored” comment is believed to have infuriated All England Club officials.

Novak Djokovic supported Head’s decision to dump the Aussie but said Tomic also needs support.

“We all have our flaws. We all, in the heat of the moment, maybe say some things that are not appropriate maybe,” Djokovic said. “But again, it’s understandable, in a way, why Head has reacted in this way.

“It’s not the right message to send out there from one of the most talented players that has played a game in (the) last six, seven years, and a hero to many children, especially in Australia.

“There are tougher things in life. Absolutely. We have to be very grateful for the kind of lifestyle we have and to be given an opportunity to play a sport that we love,” he said. “For him, it’s different now. He’s going through a tough stage, and you have to kind of understand it and support it.”

media_camera Serbia's Novak Djokovic supports Head’s decision on Tomic. media_camera Latvia's Ernests Gulbis says Tomic isn’t a bad guy. Picture: AFP

Latvian Ernests Gulbis described Tomic as a “nice guy” who “says things ... maybe too straightforward.”

“Unfortunately, yes, nowadays you get penalised a lot when speaking up your mind and saying some unpopular things,” Gulbis said. “You have to be a little bit smart in that. Maybe this is not the case how he did it the last time. But it’s tough to say more.

“But I know him. He’s a good guy. He doesn’t mean bad,” he said. “There’s some bad guys who play nice, but he’s a nice guy who doesn’t play bad. But sometimes you get in this position. This is unfortunate.”

Tomic, 24, was also under scrutiny for asking for medical time-out.

But it is understood he was cleared of what Pat Cash condemned as “blatant cheating” after officials reviewed audio exchanges between Tomic and umpire Pascal Maria during the match.

Tomic is now thought to have told Maria the trainer was not required because there was nothing structurally wrong with him. But he still wanted the doctor to provide medication.

Asked why he called for assistance, Tomic said on Tuesday: “I just thought I’d try to break a bit of momentum, to use that as my strategy, because I was just playing very bad and feeling bad out there.

“I tried to use something different maybe, you know, slow him down a bit on the serve. He was playing quick and we were all playing quick and he was serving well.”

media_camera Bernard Tomic during his first round loss to Mischa Zverev on Tuesday.

Tomic pocketed $64,000 in 84 minutes, earning just over $900 for each of the 71 points he won in a straight-sets loss to Zverev.

His confession that he summoned a doctor and trainer to court 14 when there was actually nothing wrong with disturbed officials and former players.

Boris Becker described it as “another level”.

Tomic revealed post-match he had no respect for the sport, was bored and “mentally not there.”

In a candid and brutal self-appraisal, Tomic pondered whether he would ever muster the motivation to fulfil his talent.

And he said he did not respect the sport enough — but stopped short of saying he could ever change his ways.

“This is my eighth Wimbledon or ninth, I think. I’m still 24, and it’s tough to find motivation,” he said.

“Really, me being out there on the court, to be honest with you, I just couldn’t find any motivation. To me, this is one of the biggest tournaments in the world that I have done really well in my career, and, yeah, I just couldn’t find anything.

“It’s happened to me a lot. Just can’t find anything on the court. I think I paid the price for that. It was definitely a mental issue out there.

“Yeah, I just tried to break a bit of momentum but just couldn’t find any rhythm and, you know, wasn’t mentally and physically there with my mental state to perform.

“I don’t know why, but, you know, I felt a little bit bored out there. You know, to be completely honest with you.”