Just last month, Bernard Tomic admitted that retirement had crossed his mind. But the 33-year-old quickly silenced those doubts with an impressive run at the Lincoln Classic, suggesting there was still plenty left in the tank. Few could have expected that momentum to disappear so quickly. During his Los Cabos quarterfinal, Tomic’s on-court demeanor left fans puzzled, with many even questioning whether the Australian had deliberately thrown the match.

The match between Tomic and Cameron Norrie was a fifty-minute contest, which ended in the Brit’s favor 6-1, 6-0. During the seventh game in the first set, with the Australian serving at 1-5 down in the set, there was no urgency or initiative from him as he hit two wild forehands, one of which missed the lines and another that landed in the net. Tomic then hit a double fault to concede the game and the set.

Fans were not happy with such a lackluster effort from Tomic, who showed no signs of disappointment in losing the set, and was keen to just get the match done with. This could be a violation of the “Best Efforts Rule,” which gives umpires the authority to award points and game penalties to a player during the match if it is deemed that the player is intentionally not putting in their best effort.

Now, while Tomic was not issued any such violations during the match, the Australian player is no stranger to being fined under the rule. In his first-round match at Wimbledon in 2019, Tomic was fined his prize money as it was decided that the Australian’s efforts in his first-round match did not meet the basic requirements, which he lost in straight sets under an hour.

Once the video clip of his Los Cabos match against Norrie went viral, there was no stopping the fans who were critical of the Australian’s performance.

Bernard Tomic faces backlash for his performance in Los Cabos

Fans were brutal with their comments once they saw Tomic’s performance, which made one fan say, ” A 50min disaster.”

During that final game in the first set, the only point that Tomic won was when Norrie hit a shot that was well wide of the lines. However, as fans pointed out, Tomic had his racket up but let the ball sail over the baseline.

“He had his racket up and actually thought about keeping that first shot in when going 100 feet out I can’t believe my eyes,” said the fan.

Some of the fans were a bit sympathetic towards Tomic’s cause, suggesting that the performance was due to an injury, as the Australian’s serve motion was disrupted. “Tomic barely jumping into his serve. Injured. Didn’t retire I guess because it’s reduced prize money?,” said a fan.

While one fan found a bit of humor in the situation, saying, “Hahah. Tomic the Tank Engine strikes again!!,” another made a realistic observation, saying, “I will bet the paying customers weren’t laughing.”

Fans would be right to feel disappointed as they were hoping Tomic would put up a good fight against Norrie. There was cause for optimism, as the Australian seemed in good touch when he beat fourth-seeded Karen Khachanov in the previous round.