Bernard Tomic has retired hurt just eight minutes into his first round match at the Rome International.
Tomic trailed 2-1 to Frenchman Benoit Paire when he pulled the pin after a short discussion with a doctor during a medical timeout.
“I was feeling bad all night,” Tomic said.
“I couldn’t play with the heat. I felt so, so bad and I felt like I was going to collapse. It was the best thing for me to do to retire. ... The main thing is to get it out of my system.”
The forfeit follows a week of controversy, after the 23-year-old appeared to 'tank' in the final point of his loss to Fabio Fognini last week, holding the racquet by the handle to return serve.
