Tomic Birthday Brawl Ends with Police Investigation

Australia's Bernard Tomic, while celebrating his 20th birthday, found himself at odds with police a week before he is due in court to face charges filed against him back in January.

By Erik Gudris

Bernard Tomic has another run-in with the law, this time for his recent birthday party

(October 29, 2012) -- The reigning bad boy of tennis Bernard Tomic has once again found himself under scrutiny of the law after a late night birthday party got out of control.

According to Australian press reports, Tomic was celebrating his 20th birthday at an apartment in Surfer's Paradise, a suburb on the Gold Coast in Queensland when a fight erupted between him and a friend around 5:30 in the morning. When police arrived on the scene to break up the altercation, Tomic accused the authorities of acting hostile towards him.

This recent incident with the former No. 1 Australian men's player comes a week before Tomic is due in court to face charges of hooning or aggressive behavior and failing to stop for police for a variety of speeding offenses during Australia Day earlier this year. Tomic, who was cited for driving his $150,000 orange BMW outside of the rules that his driver's license allowed, evaded police and eventually barricaded himself in his home before the standoff ended peacefully.

Tomic, if convicted of those charges, could face a maximum penalty of three years in prison and a $20,000 fine.

Once considered by many Australia's best hope for a Grand Slam title, Tomic endured a disastrous mid-season slump that featured a poor performance against Andy Roddick in the second round of the U.S. Open with many, including John McEnroe, believing Tomic deliberately tanked the match. When asked about McEnroe's comments in his press conference by a reporter, Tomic replied, "That's how I play. Do you have a problem with that?"

During Australia's Davis Cup tie against Germany, Tomic was berated by coach Tony Roche for not playing hard enough in his losing effort against Florian Mayer. Tomic later admitted to playing at "85 percent" in an early round loss again to Mayer in Shanghai last month. Tomic cited one reason was because he was fatigued after a long season. Tomic ended his season with a first round loss to Mikhail Youzhny at last week's event in Basel.

Tomic's attorney Chris Nyst responded on this recent run-in for Tomic by saying, "So far as I am aware, there's no suggestion Mr Tomic has committed any offense of any kind. If there is, he certainly hasn't been charged or even questioned about it. So I'm really not sure what all the ruckus is about."

Police are still investigating Tomic's fight at the apartment though no charges have been filed.

(File Photo: Bernard Tomic playing at the 2012 Australian Open; Credit: Corleve)