Tomic under fire after criticizing schedule

MELBOURNE (Reuters) - Australian teen-ager Bernard Tomic has fallen out with Australian Open officials after criticizing their scheduling of their night-time matches.

"I requested to play during the day, and it didn''t happen, I think it''s ridiculous," Tomic said immediately after his 6-7 6-3 4-6 6-2 6-4 loss.

"Name me any sport you play at 1:00 or 2:00 in the morning. Especially me, at my age, it''s difficult.

"I have no excuses but I think if I''d have played during the day, which I requested, it could have been all changed."

Tomic is widely regarded as the man most likely to emerge as Australia''s next great player after winning the Australian and U.S. Open junior titles but has always courted controversy.

He is the youngest man in professional tennis to win a match at the Australian Open after he made his grand slam debut as a 16-year-old in 2008 and displayed composure beyond his tender years when he pushed Cilic, ranked 14th in the world, to the brink in the second round this time.

He has risen almost 500 places in the world rankings in the last year but has already been embroiled in a series of public rows with Tennis Australia and officials were unimpressed with his latest outburst, ordering the teen-ager to a meeting.

"If there doesn''t become a change in his behavior, it becomes extremely hard for him to excel at the top echelons of the sport," Australian Open director Craig Tiley said.

"At some point, and I''ve said this to Bernard, he needs to be responsible for who he has around him and the decision he makes and what he says.

"He''s the one who has to be hauled to task for what he says and what he does."

Shortly after the meeting, Tomic fronted a packed news conference to explain his earlier comments.