Depending on when you asked, the “next generation” of tennis players–the ones after the highly successful group of Murray, Djokovic, Nadal, and del Potro–were going to come from Ryan Harrison, Grigor Dimitrov, Milos Raonic, and Bernard Tomic.  Of the four, it turns out only Raonic has made significant leaps and is likely to be the only one to potentially be successful.

However, there were high hopes that Bernard Tomic would be the next great Aussie player.  Certainly, he didn’t fit the mold of the typical Aussie.  Up until Lleyton Hewitt, the Aussies were churning out the last of the great serve and volleyers.  In the 80s, it was Pat Cash.  In the 1990s, it was Patrick Rafter.  Lleyton Hewitt, who drew inspiration from Mats Wilander, played more like Wilander than his Aussie predecessors, and for a brief time, he reached number 1.  His dogged style of play, yells of “C’mon” showed his fighting spirit, something Aussies could get behind.  However, numerous injuries have left him and players like him (Tommy Haas, most notably) playing part-time tennis.

For a guy of Tomic’s height (6’5″), Tomic’s game is particularly unusual.  Many would expect a game more like Robin Soderling with hard hitting serves and groundstrokes.  However, Tomic opted to play more of a finesse game.  He’s often compared to Andy Murray who has been known to play finesse as well.  However, despite the fondness of drop shots and change of pace, there are significant differences between their games.  In particular, Murray moves a lot better than Tomic.  Murray is one of the quickest players on tour, and that speed helps him play great defense.  Tomic, by contrast, is a bit of a plunderer, his movements labored by the relative high standards in tennis.  Murray is also an exceptional returner, often appearing among the best in return stats.  Tomic, by contrast, seems to be guessing on return of serve.

And while Murray found additional success by adding power to his shots and using it more frequently, Tomic hits flatter, and doesn’t have the steady shotmaking that helps Murray outlast opponents from the baseline.  Tomic is basically a one-trick pony.  He hits off-pace shots, daring his opponents to go for a big shot, and either they miss, or he takes a whack down-the-line, surprising his opponent.

Tomic had a great start to the 2012 campaign.  He went deep in Brisbane, won an exhibition where he beat Fish and Monfils, and managed to eke his way out of certain loss to Fernando Verdasco.  His bizarre shots left most of his opponents guessing.  Federer, who had experience Tomic’s guile first-hand in a Davis Cup match, knew he wanted to attack and not fall into playing Tomic’s game.

Despite an auspicious start, Tomic’s game and his life seems to have veered off-course.  Tomic seems to love driving fast cars, and has been caught, on more than one occasion for speeding.  He’s held parties at his place and been caught by paparazzi.  Tomic’s results have been sketchy.  During a two month period between June and July, he won no matches.  He’s still good enough to go one to two rounds in some tournaments, showing he still has the talent to be a solid top 50 player.  This year was the first full year he played at ATP 250 and above, and so he may not have been used to the work required.

Tomic’s reputation among Aussies have not always been that good.  A few years ago, he was slated to practice with Lleyton Hewitt.  Although Hewitt was far from his prime, he was still considered Australia’s top guy, much like Andy Roddick was the US’s top guy.  Either Tomic, or his bossy father, decided to withdraw from the practice stating that Hewitt wasn’t good enough, a slap in the face of the generally easy-going Aussies.  And this year, with his shenanigans and his pronouncements that he didn’t train as hard as he should have, there have been calls for him to buckle down, and get working.  In a way, he’s a bit like Capriati, but without Capriati’s talent (at the very least, Capriati hit as hard as the best women–something you can’t say about Tomic).

Tomic may need to do some soul-searching, but if things don’t change, he may be the new Ernests Gulbis.  Talented, but underperforming.