Without rival, Wimbledon is the most prestigious tennis tournament in the world. For two weeks each summer, millions of viewers in scores of countries throughout the world flock to televisions to follow the action from the All England Club. Fans endure lengthy queues for the right to pay hefty sums for tickets. Many dream of setting foot on the grounds just once.

But for all the passion fans feel for the tournament, one player, evidently, was just going through the motions.

Bernard Tomic, a talented but enigmatic 24-year old player from Australia, said in a news conference that he felt “bored” during his first round loss on Tuesday.

“You know, I wasn’t mentally and physically there, with my mental state to perform, and I don’t know why ” Tomic said. “But I felt a little bit bored out there, to be completely honest with you.”

From there, things got awkward.

“Have you thought of giving the money back?” A reporter asked.

“Which money?” Tomic shot back.

“The prize money,” the reporter said.

“Well, if you ask [Roger] Federer to give back $500 million, would he do that or not?” Tomic said, testily.

“You were just saying you were bored out there,” the reporter replied.

“We all work for money,” Tomic said. “At 34, maybe I can donate to charity. If you ask Roger if he’ll do it, I’ll do it.”

Somehow, that doesn’t seem likely.

Watch via the BBC.

RT BBCSport: "I felt bored."

This turns a little bit awkward from Bernard Tomic… #wimbledon pic.twitter.com/o81lNhMDKb BBCWorld July 04, 2…

— Shafran Naizer (@ShafranNaizer) July 4, 2017