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Lleyton Hewitt has dismissed Bernard Tomic's criticism of his Davis Cup captaincy, saying he laughed off the remarks while denying there is a rift between him and the Australian players.
Key points:
- Lleyton Hewitt says he is not treating Bernard Tomic's comments seriously
- Hewitt believes he has a strong relationship with Australia's players
- He was disappointed with the timing of Tomic's comments
Tomic, who has not played Davis Cup for Australia since 2016, launched an extraordinary attack on Hewitt following his exit from the Australian Open on Monday night, claiming the players dislike him and he should be replaced as captain.
"It's all Lleyton. I'm going to say it honestly, no-one likes him anymore," Tomic said.
Hewitt, who has had a strained relationship with Tomic for some time, said he had not taken Tomic's comments seriously.
"I had a bit of a laugh actually," Hewitt told Channel Nine.
"It's kind of Bernie being Bernie, especially after a loss last night and going in and complaining about a few things.
"So, for me, I kind of just laugh it off and move forward."
Hewitt said he believed he enjoyed a solid relationship with Australia's Davis Cup players, despite Tomic saying Nick Kyrgios and Thanasi Kokkinakis were frustrated with the two-time major winner.
I don't think that there is a rift," he said.
"There is always communication going on between the captain, coaches and players, and leading into the next [Davis Cup] tie that will all happen.
"Those boys [Kyrgios and Kokkinakis] are going on for big matches today … we've spoken before the Australian Open and we will continue to speak after the Australian Open leading into the Davis Cup tie.
"For me, I love being a part and helping the Australian players as much as possible."
Hewitt disappointed with timing of Tomic's comments
While Hewitt was dismissive of Tomic's tirade, he was upset it took some of the attention away from what was a strong performance from Australia's male and female players at the Open on day one.
Eight Australian players advanced to the second round of the men's and women's draws at the opening major of the season.
"I guess the disappointing thing [was] that the Aussies had such a great day yesterday, on both the men's and women's side," he said.
"It probably got overshadowed by Bernie's comments."
Hewitt did not address Tomic's suggestion he had a "conflict of interests" when it came to Davis Cup selection and wildcards awarded by Tennis Australia at the Australian Open.
He also did not respond to Tomic's request that he be replaced as Davis Cup captain.
"I hope he can get moved and we can go back to having a good captain," Tomic said.
The tension between Tomic and Hewitt is rumoured to date back to an incident in 2009 when Hewitt was still playing.
Tomic allegedly snubbed a practice request from the former world number one at Wimbledon.
Topics: sport, tennis, australian-open, australia, vic, melbourne-3000