Tomic in court to face charges

Madrid - John Tomic, the father of Australian tennis player Bernard Tomic, appeared in a Madrid court on Monday over the alleged assault of his son's training partner Thomas Drouet.

The Frenchman was left with a broken nose after the incident which took place outside a hotel in the Spanish capital on May 4, while Bernard Tomic was competing in the Madrid Masters event.

The court heard evidence from both Bernard and John Tomic, as well as Drouet and two police officers during a hearing that lasted only 20 minutes.

Tomic denies the charges claiming that he acted solely in self-defence.

Prosecutors have asked for a two-year jail sentence for Tomic due to the injuries suffered by Drouet, with a verdict expected to be released within the next month.

Drouet has since ceased to work with the world number 41 and is now part of Wimbledon champion Marion Bartoli's training team.

Following the incident John Tomic was banned from attending ATP events and was not present as his son put a miserable run during the European clay court season behind him to reach the last-16 at Wimbledon, where he was defeated by Tomas Berdych.