Chirpy Tomic unloads on Hewitt sway
Australian tennis is on the verge of exploding again after Bernard Tomic unloaded on Davis Cup captain Lleyton Hewitt in an extraordinary post-match tirade.
Tomic was bundled out in straight sets against world No 6 Marin Cilic, 6-2 6-4 7-6 in a match that lasted just over two hours.
The 26-year-old world No 88 was in a chirpy mood after the defeat as he poured fuel on his rift with Hewitt and Tennis Australia.
Tomic made a series of sensational accusations against Hewitt, including:
■ A suggestion Hewitt has been promoting Aussie players in the Davis Cup team that have a link to the management company he has a partial ownership stake in.
■ A claim that fellow Aussie stars Thanasi Kokkinakis and Nick Kyrgios are also boycotting the team while Hewitt remains captain.
■ A claim that the Aussie Cup Davis Cup system has become broken under Hewitt’s leadership.
■ A demand that Hewitt must be replaced by a new captain who is more like former Aussie Davis Cup captain Wally Masur.
Tomic’s dramatic press conference lasted only five minutes before an Australian Open media official shut it down.
The former top-20 player left the room with a grin and joked on the way out that he wanted reporters to “have fun with that”.
“We have a lot of issues that not a lot of players are happy about,” Tomic said when first asked if he expects to play Davis Cup this year.
“The players that I have spoken to aren’t. Myself, Kokkinakis, Kyrgios. I think once that sort of gets resolved we’ll see. I stand by my call a couple years ago. I knew something was wrong in the Davis Cup. And now there is Kokkinakis and Nick as well who aren’t playing because they have issues with some people. Hopefully that can be arranged and the best players can be playing for Australia.”
It comes less than a week after a report claimed Kokkinakis has fallen out with Hewitt over a selection snub. Kokkinakis referred to the report as “bulls **** ” on the eve of the Open.
Tomic said he, Kyrgios and Kokkinakis will only consider returning to Davis Cup when “the best players in Australia” are selected to play the singles rubbers.