Lleyton Hewitt; Gary Ablett Jr
The tennis star’s heated battle with Bernard Tomic continues
MOST AUSTRALIANS simply want to sit back and enjoy the high competitive standard of tennis that the Australian Open brings. But for some – even the athletes themselves – they can’t distract from the drama.
On Jan. 14, Australian Open competitor Bernard Tomic, 26, made a public swipe at former world No. 1 and fellow competitor Lleyton Hewitt, during a press conference after losing to Marin Cilic on the first day of the tournament, revealing he wouldn’t be returning to the Davis Cup court under Hewitt’s guidance.
“I have got to say honestly no-one likes him anymore, he is doing the wrong thing, he is playing Davis Cup,” Tomic told reporters. “I thought he was retired, he is playing all these matches.”
After claiming Hewitt, 37, “used to hate Tennis Australia, it’s weird and now he loves them”, Tomic revealed that “Kokkinakis, Kyrgios, we don’t want to play anymore because he has ruined the system.”
But father-of-three Hewitt wasn’t about to cop such a public slam on his character, and called out Tomic for his “clown” behaviour. Hewitt made the shock claim that Tomic had threatened to blackmail him, and that his verbal attacks had turned physical. “I think the threats that I’ve received for me and my family that I’ve had for a year and a half now … I don’t think anyone would reach out to a person that speaks like that,” Hewitt said.
Telling reporters he perceived Tomic’s behaviours as empty threats, he revealed that the 18-month-long threats had ceased. “I don’t think he’s got my number,” he said.
It wasn’t long before Tomic fired back.
“I got nothing to do with your family and I don’t care what’s wrong with you, you liar.”
On Jan. 18, Hewitt took to Twitter to encourage the public to focus on the game instead. “Let’s focus all our attention on @alexdeminaur @AlexeiPopyrin99 & @abolt15,” he wrote. He went on to say: “These 3 young have had an incredible week. Let’s get behind them Australia!” •