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Sydney - Bernard Tomic says he and fellow fiery Australian
Nick Kyrgios will always be "just a bit crazy" and people should get
used to it.
The controversial pair have frequently fallen foul of tennis
authorities and have a love-hate relationship with the public.
Tomic said they were unlikely to change but he had been
working hard on his mental game ahead of the first Grand Slam of the year at
Melbourne Park next week.
"Obviously we are just a bit crazy," he told
Wednesday's Sydney Daily Telegraph.
"So it's tough to control that. Honestly speaking,
sometimes we do lose it.
"But we do have to remain mentally strong and focused
on the main thing, which is playing tennis, doing well and trying to achieve
our target.
"But for sure, we're not the calmest people."
Volatile Kyrgios, nursing a knee injury ahead of the
Australian Open, is on the comeback trail from a ban for "lack of best
efforts" during a notorious match in Shanghai last year.
Known for his on-court tantrums, he is ranked 14 in the
world and considered a danger in the opening Grand Slam of the year, if his
knee holds up and he can keep control of his combustible temperament.
Tomic has also been plagued by controversy, making headlines
last year when he turned his racquet the wrong way to face a match point
against Fabio Fognini in Madrid.
He later told his post-match news conference: "I don't
care about that match point. Would you care if you were 23 and worth over $10
million?"
Now ranked 27, Tomic admitted putting on too much weight
during the off-season and was "fat" during a disappointing
first-round loss to David Ferrer at the Brisbane International last week.
But he claims to have since lost five kilograms.
"I was about 99 kilos, as opposed to 94," he said.
"One more kilo and I could have went boxing. I mean, I
am tall and big, but 99 kilos is too much.
"So yes, you can say last week I was fat. Then in one week I trained well and did the right things and I'm feeling pretty good right now."
