Former Davis Cup captain Wally Masur has been appointed the high performance chief for Tennis Australia following the resignation of Pat Rafter.
The two-time US Open champion Rafter stepped down from his role amid ongoing confrontations between him and two of Australia’s highest ranked players – Nick Kyrgios and Bernard Tomic. Throughout Rafter’s two-year term, both players have been critical of him. At the 2015 Wimbledon Championships, Tomic launched a verbal attack on the former world No.1 which resulted in him missing a Davis Cup tie.
“Pat is a nice guy. If the Australian public don’t know Pat, he’s a good actor, he’s well‑spoken, always prepared and knows what to say,” Tomic said.
“He’s prepped by Tennis Australia to know what to say. He’s always ready to fire back questions that we answer to. You know, behind that I think very disappointed in Craig Tiley in Tennis Australia. He’s the reason the last few years, it’s been up and down for me.
At the same time, Kyrgios also weighed-in on Tomic’s comments by defending his fellow teammate.
“Another negative comment out of Rafters mouth,” Kyrgios once tweeted.
“Does this guy ever stop? #everyoneisaworkinprogress.”
Since that infamous outburst, the relationship between the three has been on a rocky road. Tomic recently made himself unavailable for Australia’s Davis Cup tie against the Czech Republic amid an ongoing conflict between his family and Tennis Australia over funding for his younger sister Sara.
Trying to heal the rift will be Mansur, who guided Australia to the Davis Cup semifinals in 2015. Speaking about his new role, the 57-year-old plans to meet with Tomic to discuss recent events. It has been reported by AAP that the two have already been in close contact.
“I will certainly talk to Bernie,” Masur told AAP.
“Like any player, the door is open to Davis Cup for Bernie.
“He made himself unavailable for scheduling reasons and to make a concerted effort to get his ranking where he feels he should be and I don’t think we can dismiss all the good things that he’s done in Davis Cup in the past.”
As for Kyrgios, Masur is leaving the communication solely with Lleyton Hewitt, the current Davis Cup captain. Last month Masur told The Sydney Morning Herald that the former world No.1 was the ‘best mentor’ for the world No.15 outside of his immediate group.
“That relationship is going to be important, not just from a Davis Cup perspective, but I’m sure Lleyton is probably the best sounding board for him,” said Masur.
Prior to his next promotion, Masur has been serving under Rafter as deputy head of high performance for Tennis Australia.
