Tomic volleys criticism, Hewitt returns serve
Davis Cup captain Lleyton Hewitt has dismissed claims of a damaging rift in Australian tennis ranks following an astonishing broadside from self-exiled star Bernard Tomic.
In a bitter aftermath to his first-round Australian Open exit, Tomic claimed he and others including Nick Kyrgios and Thanasi Kokkinakis no longer wanted to play Davis Cup under Hewitt. He also accused the former world No 1 of favouring younger talent.
‘‘No one likes him any more . . . go away,’’ Tomic said of Hewitt. ‘‘We have a lot of issues that not a lot of players are happy about. We all know who those players are: myself, Kokkinakis, Kyrgios.’’
Kokkinakis was overlooked for a wildcard at this year’s tournament in favour of Alexei Popyrin, Marc Polmans and Alex Bolt.
Tomic alleged that Hewitt’s promotion of Open debutant Polmans, the world No 169, and the lower-ranked Bolt, was improper.
‘‘He used to hate Tennis Australia, it’s weird. Now he loves them. What’s happened here?
‘‘All these guys that got wildcards are under a system – Polmans, Bolty, Jordan Thompson.
‘‘They’re all under Lleyton’s wing under the management company. It’s conflict of interest.
‘‘And then he’s in Davis Cup and he’s doing the wrong thing and everyone’s leaving.’’
Hewitt, though, dismissed Tomic’s outburst and vowed to stay on as captain ahead of Australia’s qualifying tie next month against Bosnia and Herzegovina, despite Tomic saying the skipper should be ‘‘moved on’’.
‘‘I actually had a bit of a laugh. It’s Bernie being Bernie and losing and going on and complaining about a few things,’’
Hewitt told the Nine Network. ‘‘I laugh it off and go forward. The disappointing thing is that the Aussie men and women had a great day and it was overshadowed by Bernard Tomic.’’
Tomic hasn’t played Davis Cup since 2016, while Kyrgios opted out of Australia’s World Group playoff last September in Austria to save himself for Laver Cup.
‘‘I don’t think that there is a rift,’’ Hewitt said. ‘‘There is
always communication going on with captain, coach and players and leading into the next tie that will all happen but those boys are going on with big matches today.
‘‘The communication, we’ve spoken before the Australian Open and we will speak after the Australian Open leading into the next Davis Cup tie.
‘‘For me, I love being a part and helping the Australian players as much as possible.’’