Hewitt: A weekday at Bernie’s

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.

‘‘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.’’

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.

‘‘I 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.