Australian Open 2019: Lleyton Hewitt hits back at Bernard Tomic as ongoing feud escalates

Lleyton Hewitt, Australia’s Davis Cup captain, launched into outspoken criticisms of two of his country’s most talented players here on Thursday.

Hewitt accused Bernard Tomic of threatening not to play for his country unless he was awarded wild cards into tournaments and said the former Wimbledon quarter-finalist would never play for his country again while he was in charge.

He also said that Nick Kyrgios had fallen short of the standards expected of Australian Davis Cup players and said his failure to give 100 per cent effort every week made him a bad role model.

The attack by Hewitt followed comments made earlier this week by Tomic, whose feud with his Davis Cup captain goes back more than a year.

After his first-round defeat here at the Australian Open earlier this week, Tomic called on Hewitt to resign. “We have a lot of issues that not a lot of players are happy about,” Tomic said. “I think we all know who those players are: myself, [Thanasi] Kokkinakis, Kyrgios.”

He added: “It’s all Lleyton. No one likes him any more. He’s doing the wrong thing. He’s playing Davis Cup. I thought he had retired. He’s playing all these matches.”

Kyrgios, meanwhile, has been fuelling the argument that Hewitt is interested only in 19-year-old Alex de Minaur, who has emerged as the Australian No 1 and one of the game’s brightest prospects. Hewitt has been a mentor to De Minaur and played doubles with him at Brisbane a fortnight ago.

While De Minaur was playing here on Wednesday evening, Australia’s No 2 and No 3 players, John Millman and Matt Ebden, were also playing their second-round matches on other courts. Kyrgios posted on Instagram a screenshot of Hewitt in De Minaur’s player box and asked his followers to guess which match the Davis Cup captain was watching. In a post which he later deleted Kyrgios gave two options: De Minaur and “no one else.”

When asked about Tomic’s comments, Hewitt said: “That’s what we’ve come to expect from Bernie. After pretty much every Grand Slam after a first-round loss he’ll come out with something.”

Calling Tomic “a clown”, he added: “We’re trying to set cultural standards for the Davis Cup and representing Australia. He hasn’t really been close to those in the last couple of years. Since then I haven’t had anything to do with Bernie at all.

“For me the biggest frustration is that I feel I really went out of my way to help Bernie, especially when I first came into the role. I spent a lot of time with him, one-on-one, at a lot of tournaments and tried to get him a coaching structure and physical team around him to give him the best opportunity. At the end of the day he kept making the same mistakes.

“For me it was probably the abuse that I copped from him that made me draw a line in the sand. I haven’t spoken to him since. He won’t play Davis Cup again while I have anything to do with it.”

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When Kyrgios was asked earlier this week if there was a rift between himself and Hewitt he replied: “Not really.” Hewitt also insisted he had “a great relationship” with Kyrgios but added: “With the Davis Cup team we feel like we have a responsibility to set a cultural standard and right now Nick’s not meeting those either.

“The things that we feel like we have to push – and all we ask for – is to commit to the sport, to go out there and give 100 per cent every time you step on the court. With the new Davis Cup format you’re only possibly playing twice a year, but it’s got to be every week of the year. You’re representing your country every single week. There are kids back in Australia idolising these guys.

“The other thing is to go out there and be a great role model all the time. I’m happy to help anyone who’s willing to meet me halfway but I think you have to enjoy going out there and playing. I think Nick with what he said at Brisbane and not really wanting to be there at the tournament, I think that hurts one of our Australian events. I think he’s got some work to do to get up to those standards.”

Hewitt, who denied the allegations of preferential treatment for certain players, also said that some of Kyrgios’ posts on social media were unacceptable. “I’ve spoken to Nick about it,” he said. “Whether he learns from it, that’s another thing.”

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John Millman, the Australian No 2, said he got on well with both his fellow Queenslander Tomic (“a bit of a larrikin”) and Kyrgios ("a top bloke"). He also thought the Davis Cup team selections had been justified and said he had no problems with Hewitt.

“I think I've always felt actually quite well-supported by the captain, by the coach, by the support staff,” Millman said. “I've had only positive experiences from it.”

The controversy comes amid Australia’s continuing frustration at not producing champions here any more. The last home player to win the men’s singles at this tournament was Mark Edmondson in 1976 and the last home-grown women’s champion was Chris O’Neil in 1978.

De Minaur, nevertheless, offers real hope for the future. Having begun 2018 outside the world’s top 200, he is now up to No 29 and won the first title of his career in Sydney last weekend. He faces Rafael Nadal in the third round here in tomorrow’s night session in Rod Laver Arena.