Australian Open 2019: Bernard Tomic brands Lleyton Hewitt ‘a liar’ as he denies blackmail and threat claims

Australia’s Davis Cup captain Hewitt had accused Tomic of ‘blackmailing’ him and ‘threatening’ his family

Friday 18 January 2019 04:03 EST
Comments
Bernard Tomic has denied allegations of making threats against Lleyton Hewitt's family
Bernard Tomic has denied allegations of making threats against Lleyton Hewitt's family (EPA)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Bernard Tomic has called Lleyton Hewitt a "liar" and denied threatening the Australia Davis Cup captain's family.

An ugly war of words within Australian men's tennis has overshadowed the home country's achievements on court and shows no sign of dying down yet.

It began on Monday when, after a first-round loss, Tomic accused Hewitt of favouring some players over others and said no-one wanted him as Davis Cup captain.

Hewitt then responded in an incendiary press conference on Thursday, calling Tomic a clown and claiming the 26-year-old had tried to blackmail him and threatened him and his family.

"The threats I've received for me and my family, that I've had for a year and half now, I don't think anyone would reach out to a person who speaks like that," said Hewitt.

Now Tomic has fired back, telling the Herald Sun: "I have never threatened his family. Nice, Lleyton. To think how low of a person you actually (are), and why the Australian public never liked you.

"I got nothing to do with your family and I don't care what's wrong with you, you liar."

PA

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in