Tomljanovic angered by Kyrgios question after Wimbledon quarter-final loss

“Quite disappointing that after almost 2 hours of playing in my quarter-finals that’s the first question journalists choose to ask me, and never ask anything related to the game,” he wrote on Twitter.

“It’s good to see headlines about it now. Do better.”

Tomljanovic will be looking to translate successive Wimbledon quarter-final successes into deeper runs in the majors, adopting a half-cup view.

It was a likely case as Tomljanovic had the upper hand against Rybakina before the Kazakh found his groove at a critical point 2-2 in the second set.

From there, Russian-born Rybakina won seven games in a row as Tomljanovic, suddenly trailing behind, had to settle for only winning individual points.

Load

As Rybakina gained grip on the match and marched on to victory, Croatia-born Tomljanovic put up a late fightback, gallantly breaking her opponent 5-1 down, but the damage was done.

“That’s gone too far. I mean, that 3-5 game [when Rybakina was serving for the match]once again, he served really well,” said Tomljanovic.

Unlike last year’s last eight Tomljanovic when Barty removed him from the court, Wednesday’s match was a missed opportunity for the Australian. Tomljanovic deserves a win as does Rybakina, provided he plays well enough often.

While there may not be any ranking points on offer from the All England club this year, Tomljanovic, who has spoken of the support he has received from grand slam champion Chris Evert, said he was instead grateful for the boost to stake his career after a deep run.

“I’m very proud of the fact that I managed to play in the quarter-finals,” said Tomljanovic after a 6-4, 2-6, 3-6 loss in almost two hours on court one.

“I think it’s something I’ll be proud of no matter what. But [it’s] a bit of a different feeling from last year just because I really felt like I was in this match. I really believe that I can win, where maybe it didn’t happen last year. That’s what’s more disappointing.”

Back in time: Ajla Tomljanovic and Nick Kyrgios share a moment together at the 2017 Miami Open.Credit:AP

Tomljanovic has yet to finalize his live tour plans. But the United States’ hardcourt strike and the next smash hit on the calendar, the US Open in New York, was in sight.

“The good thing is I play good tennis, and I don’t see why I can’t put myself out there again at the next slam or at any time,” he said.

“I really think this is a step forward, and I can build on that.”

The Florida-based Australian who applied for local citizenship in 2014, along with other top 100 players Daria Saville, are doing their best to fill the gap in Australian tennis created by Barty’s sudden March resignation.

Prior to the rise in rankings that came with a major quarter-final spot, Tomljanovic was less bothered by the unusual post-match situation than he was when he brought up the odd predicament ahead of Wimbledon.

Tomljanovic has entered the upcoming two ATP tournaments, next week’s event in Budapest and the tournament in Palermo, Italy, the week after, but they will likely be off the agenda.

“I don’t like chasing points. I entered it [those two events] just because if I had dropped earlier here I would have played because I was hungry and ready to play,” said Tomljanovic.

“I need to rest now, and my body just needs a little rest.”

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