Australian Open: Bernard Tomic going home to 'count my millions’ after qualifying defeat

Bernard Tomic will not feature in the main draw for the Australian Open for the first time since 2008

Bernard Tomic said he was heading home to "count my millions" after failing to qualify for the Australian Open.

The Australian lost 6-1 6-7 (5-7) 6-4 to Italian Lorenzo Sonego in the final round of qualifying in Melbourne.

It will be the first time since 2008 that 25-year-old Tomic has not featured in the main draw, with Tennis Australia having chosen not to offer the world number 142 a wildcard.

"I just count money, that's all I do," he told Channel 7.

"You go do what I did. You go make 13-14 million. Good luck guys. Bye bye."

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The remark echoed his reaction to criticism for a lack of commitment in Madrid last year, when he said: "Would you care if you were 23 and worth over $10m?"

A two-time junior Grand Slam champion, Tomic became Australian number one and reached the Wimbledon quarter-finals as an 18-year-old qualifier in 2011.

He reached the third round at last year's Australian Open, but will fall further down the next set of rankings after this qualifying failure.

Local media have reported he is considering taking part in the Australian version of television show I'm A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here.

Tomic's previous controversies

Tomic was fined $15,000 (£11,581) at last year's Wimbledon for saying he was "bored" and feigning injury during his defeat by Mischa Zverev of Germany.

It was the latest in a number of incidents during a professional career that began in 2008.

Tomic was criticised for ruling himself out of the Rio 2016 Olympics because of an "extremely busy" schedule, a year after he was dropped by Tennis Australia - for a second time - from their Davis Cup squad.

He was left out in 2015 after accusing the governing body of abandoning him following hip surgery in 2014, but has since returned to the team.

Further questions were raised about his attitude when he held his racquet by the strings when facing match point in a Madrid Open tie last year.

Tomic's career has also been affected by off-court controversy.

In July 2015, he was charged with resisting arrest and trespassing by police in the United States after refusing to leave a hotel room.

And his father, John, was sentenced to eight months in prison for assaulting his son's training partner before the 2013 Madrid Open.