Tomic Needs to Find Himself

This was no sermon from an exclusive Ivory Tower but a genuine message of support from Novak Djokovic.

The recently-crowned Shanghai Masters champion was irked by an admission from Bernard Tomic that he only turned in "85 per cent" effort when crashing to a first-round defeat at the same competition.

In effect, his Monte Carlo neighbour might as well have been speaking in another language to fans of live tennis online.

The two regularly practice together so Djokovic was as shocked as he was surprised to learn the teenager confess he was not giving his all.

The world number two diplomatically responded, "to be honest, I don't think it's a great answer", most probably because he is at the other end of the spectrum fighting to become world number one.

Tomic will not be the first or last troubled soul to suddenly fall out love with his chosen profession but it may be that he has to take a step back to eventually move forward, if this warning from Djokovic does not hit home.

The Germany-born right-hander is the youngest man in the top 100 but will end 2012 ranked lower than when he started, having not taken a set off a top-20 player since claiming the prize scalps of Fernando Verdasco and Alexandr Dolgopolov at the Australian Open in January.

The 2011 Wimbledon quarter-finalist, who has withdrawn from the Stockholm Open, has spoken of his desire "to sit down and really find myself".

It is hoped among supporters placing Australian Open bets that the sport does not lose his talent and Tomic takes on board advice from his peers and those closest to him. Time moves on and Tomic risks being forgotten if he cannot overcome his demons.