Sydney: The father of Australian tennis player Bernard Tomic may be banned from the season-opening grand slam in Melbourne next week but it did not stop him cheering his son to victory at the Sydney International on Tuesday.
Former taxi driver John Tomic was banned from receiving accreditation for all ATP events, which includes next week's Australian Open, after he was convicted and sentenced to eight month's imprisonment by a Spanish court for assault. Tomic was not required to serve jail time after he had been convicted of head-butting his son's former training partner Frenchman Thomas Drouet and breaking his nose because his sentence was under two years in length.
The ATP stripped him of accreditation for events, which entitles him into official areas, though he was allowed to buy a ticket as a member of the public at the discretion of the tournament director. "The ATP has banned John Tomic - as is public knowledge - which excludes him from getting credentials and being in other accreditable areas," Sydney International director Craig Watson told Australian media.
"There is nothing that prohibits the events agreeing to John being in public areas of the ground and I've agreed to allow that to happen." Australian Open organisers have already said he will not be entitled to purchase a ticket for Melbourne Park.
Tomic, who was coaching Bernard before the ban, sat in the front row of his son's demolition of eighth seed Marcel Granollers 6-3 6-0 in just under an hour on Tuesday. The lanky 21-year-old, who won his first ATP Tour title at Sydney last year, has taken Croatian Velimir Zovko on as his new co-coach while his father serves the remainder of the ban. The ATP is expected to consider whether to lift the ban in May.
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