Bloomfield hits out at LTA

British number 12 Richard Bloomfield has launched a withering attack on the LTA after his run to the semi-finals of the Hall of Fame Championships in Rhode Island.

The 27-year-old claimed his first wins on the ATP Tour since Wimbledon in 2006, including his victory over world number 56 Santiago Giraldo, before losing out to American Mardy Fish in the last four.

His performances moved Bloomfield from 552 up to 292 in the world rankings, and made the Norfolk player the lowest-ranked semi-finalist on the ATP Tour.

But Bloomfield does not expect his achievement to be acknowledged by the LTA, and he was also critical of their system for nurturing their top players.

"I have been around for too long to waste my time with them," he told The Times.

"Everybody knows the system is rubbish - indeed whatever system they have tried, the situation just gets worse and worse. I didn't expect anyone to get in touch with me - in fact, I don't want them to."

There were also reports last week that tennis authorities were to look into "strange" betting patterns on Bloomfield's first-round win over Belgium's Christophe Rochus. But Bloomfield said: "I'm a guy who has never had a bet on anything in my life."