The father of Australia's top-ranked tennis player Bernard Tomic said yesterday he was acting in self-defence when he headbutted his son's training partner and broke his nose in the Spanish capital.
John Tomic denied a charge of assault against Thomas Drouet in a Saturday afternoon brawl outside a hotel where players in the Madrid Masters were staying, his lawyer Carmen Dieguez told journalists at a Madrid court.
(Inset) John Tomic , father of Aus tennis staru00a0Bernard Tomic
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The court set a May 14 hearing for a judge to decide his guilt or innocence. “I don’t feel guilty. I did not do anything wrong,” John Tomic told reporters of the fight, which has sparked consternation in the tennis world.
John Tomic struck his son’s training partner with his head only because his own arms were being held by Drouet and he had to protect himself from falling over, his lawyer said. Tomic opted for a court hearing rather than paying a fine, she told reporters.
Tennis player Thomas Drouet, training partner Bernard Tomic, leaves a court house bandaged and wearing a kneck brace in Madrid yesterday. Pic/AFP
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