melbourne there is no shame in losing to canadian denis shapovalov but there might have been a hint of nostalgia for bernard tomic as he bowed out of the australian open second round on wednesday in defeat to a young talent on an upwards trajectorylike 21yearold shapovalov tomic was tipped to become a major grand slam contender in his junior years and he set australia alight after making the 2011 wimbledon quarterfinals at the age of 18though claiming four titles in a career many players would dream of 28yearold tomic has never scaled such heights again at a grand slam and his world ranking peaked at 17 five years agoclashes with tennis officialdom an infamous reality tv appearance and boasts about making a fortune from tennis without even trying hard have marked his steady decline to a current ranking of 233shapovalov on the other hand would seemingly have it all ahead of him and he celebrated making his maiden grand slam quarterfinal at the us open last yearthe 11th seed was way too good for tomic on court three on wednesday thrashing him 61 63 62 in less than two hours on a hot day at melbourne parkwhat is he 10 or 11 in the world the guy just played too good its just confidence tomic told reporterswhen youre there focused at the top i remember myself playing being in the top 30 top 20 you come into matches youre confident over opponentsthats what he had from the start from the first ball from the first game from the first 15 minutes he didnt miss a ballwhere he was once a teen with hopes of winning grand slams tomics ambitions are now more modestqualifying for the australian open and winning a match meant it was a good trip to melbourne overall even if his girlfriend an adult entertainer was derided widely last month for posting a video on social media complaining that she had to wash her own hair in hotel quarantineregardless of where i am i know im pretty good in a good state from taking off tennis for about eight months i couldnt ask for anything more said tomicfar from disappearing quietly from the game tomic said he would willingly go back to grinding on the secondary tours to earn points and lift his ranking to compete for bigger prizesin a moment of defiance he also returned serve at australias former davis cup captain and pundit john fitzgerald for doubting that he would ever play another australian open after this oneof course it is harsh tomic saidbut you know hes probably the worst commentator ive ever seen in my life as well