Bernard Tomic in Gold Coast traffic stand-off

Rising tennis star Bernard Tomic had an Australia Day to forget yesterday when he was involved with a stand-off with police on the Gold Coast after committing alleged traffic infringements.

Police radio transmissions, broadcast on Channel 9, alerted patrols to watch for a bright orange BMW M3, being driven by Tomic, who was allegedly revving his engine at pedestrians in the restaurant strip of Broadbeach.

After being given one ticket Tomic was ordered to drive straight home but was stopped and given a second ticket when he allegedly disobeyed the directive.

He was followed home by a police vehicle with lights flashing and parked his car in the driveway behind locked security gates.

The 19-year-old initially refused to be interviewed but two police officers eventually entered the Tomic home, Inspector Glenn Allen later told reporters two traffic infringement notices had been issued relating to the conditions of his licence.

He said he had a discussion with the Tomic family about the alleged breaches, and it was too early for him to say whether police had made a mistake in issuing the tickets.

Inspector Allen added the teenager wanted to lay "some sort of complaint, although the nature of it was not clear".

Tomic, who made it to the fourth round of the Australian Open before being eliminated by Roger Federer last Sunday, was investigated over complaints of hooning last month.

He is still on his (restricted) P-plates but has a special exemption to drive the $150,000 car to and from training and other activities directly related to his tennis.

Tomic denied the hooning claims, arguing he was the victim of a vendetta by a Gold Coast police officer.
His car's speed is electronically limited, although its top speed still exceeds 250km/h.

Tomic who emerged briefly to talk to reporters said he had done nothing wrong.

"They've given me three tickets and one officer feels like he wants to get me and it's not a good feeling. It's all happened on Australia Day when I am trying to have fun with my mates," the Australian Associated Press reported.

- © Fairfax NZ News