Tomic to face court on traffic offences
Teenage Australian tennis star Bernard Tomic will face court later this month after being charged with two traffic offences following a recent standoff with police outside his home.
The 19-year-old was fined twice in the space of an hour driving his high-powered bright orange BMW M3 on the Gold Coast just days after being knocked out of the Australian Open by Roger Federer last month.
But in a statement late on Tuesday police allege he refused to stop when asked to pull over a third time.
A police car followed him home with siren blaring and officers had to wait outside his house, barred by security gates, for several hours for Tomic to come out in an incident that attracted wide media attention.
Tomic, who has been granted a special exemption from his provisional licence to drive his top-of-the-range BMW M3 to and from tennis training, has been charged with failing to stop his car.
He is also accused of not keeping to the left of double dividing lines on the road.
Tomic, who has repeatedly alleged he is being persecuted by police, has hired the Gold Coast's foremost civil lawyer Chris Nyst, who says the young tennis star has not broken the law.
"We're talking about a teenager who's been alleged to have done the most minor of traffic infringements, there's not even any suggestion that there's been any inappropriate driving or any kind of delinquent driving," he said.
He is due to face court on February 14.
Last year, Tomic became the youngest man in 25 years to reach the quarterfinals of Wimbledon and began his 2012 season by claiming his first senior title at the Kooyong Classic.