Masur keen to court Tomics after Rafter steps down
INCOMING Tennis Australia head of performance Wally Masur will attempt to bring the Tomic family back into the fold after their relationship soured under his predecessor Pat Rafter.
Former world No.1 Rafter is stepping down after two years in the role, with deputy Masur taking on the position.
Rafter and John Tomic had an bitter ongoing feud over his son Bernard and daughter Sara involving funding from TA.
That public row extended to Davis Cup captain Lleyton Hewitt after Bernard Tomic skipped Australia’s recent world group tie in Melbourne. “I will certainly talk to Bernie,” said Masur, former Davis Cup coach and then captain before Hewitt took over last year.
“Like any player, the door is open to Davis Cup for Bernie.
“He made himself unavailable for scheduling reasons and to make a concerted effort to get his ranking where he feels he should be and I don’t think we can dismiss all the good things that he’s done in Davis Cup in the past.”
Masur said he was in regular contact with Tomic Sr and confirmed Sara had been offered funding under a restructure by TA late last year as one of four girls and boys who train outside their framework.
“They’ve got to hit certain benchmarks to get X amount of funding but I feel like that’s a positive because we’re not saying, ‘it’s our way or the highway’,” Masur said.
Masur, who will drop his television commentary role, said he would not get involved in the hunt for a coach for Australian No.1 Nick Kyrgios.
He said he would leave Hewitt as TA’s main contact with Kyrgios given their close bond over Davis Cup.
“That relationship is going to be important, not just from a Davis Cup perspective but I’m sure Lleyton is probably the best sounding board for him,” Masur said.
Hewitt will report to Masur, as will men’s coach Jason Stoltenberg, women’s coach Nicole Pratt and Fed Cup captain Alicia Molik.
Rafter said he would take a break but would continue to play some role in Australian tennis in the future.
“The time is right for me. I came in to Davis Cup and then in this role because I wanted to make a difference and I feel we have taken some major strides,” Rafter said.
“This journey for me – through the Davis Cup years and now as performance director – has been an eye opener to say the least.
“The restructuring process that we went through in September last year was intense for everyone.”