Tennis
Tomic to face court over police standoff
Tennis

Tomic to face court over police standoff

Published Jan. 31, 2012 12:00 a.m. ET

Tennis star Bernard Tomic will face court over his Australia Day standoff with police.

The 19 year old was fined twice in the space of an hour Jan. 26 while driving his high-powered BMW M3 on the Gold Coast but refused to stop when asked to pull over a third time.

Instead, he drove home, sparking a tense three-hour standoff as a procession of police officers, lawyers and local politicians spoke with the Tomic family.

The standoff made national headlines and followed his outstanding summer of tennis, where he was runner-up at the Brisbane International and made the fourth round of the Australian Open.

ADVERTISEMENT

The world No. 34 had a special exemption allowing him to drive his high-powered sports car for reasons "pertaining to his career."

Lawyer Chris Nyst said that was where the issue became confusing, but he believes Tomic did nothing wrong. Nyst will also seek a meeting with Queensland police commissioner Bob Atkinson to resolve the matter.

Tomic, who trains at Southport's Queens Park tennis center while he is home on the Gold Coast, was caught by police driving his distinctive orange BMW around Broadbeach on Australia Day.

He claimed he was being picked on by officers because of his European background.

Still weighing up whether to lodge a complaint against police to the Crime and Misconduct Commission, Tomic was served with a notice to appear at Southport Magistrates Court on two traffic offenses.

He was charged with one count each of keeping to the left of the two continuous dividing lines and failing to stop a motor vehicle and will face court Feb. 14.

Read more . . .

share


Get more from Tennis Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more

in this topic