Former top 20 player Bernard Tomic has claimed that he was once threatened with permanent removal from the Davis Cup by captain Lleyton Hewitt.
During an interview with 60 Minutes on Channel Nine, 26-year-old has said the incident between the two occurred when he was a teenager. Tomic’s father, John, claims the former world No.1 was unhappy about comments made by his son at the time. On the eve of Tomic’s Davis Cup debut against Taiwan back in 2010, it is alleged that Hewitt told Tomic he would not play if he didn’t answer a series of questions.
“He sat me down and said, ‘You’re not playing Davis Cup mate tomorrow … unless you tell me these things’,” Tomic said during an interview with 60 Minutes.
“I was intimidated, I was harassed. That’s all I’ll say. I was 16 years old [sic] at a Davis Cup tie in Melbourne, Grand Hyatt [hotel]. I’ll stand by that. Further matters will be taking place.”
During this year’s Australian Open, Tomic Sr said that he has begun legal proceedings over the incident. Saying that his son has been left ‘traumatised’ following the incident. In the latest update, he has confirmed that two lawyers are involved in the case.
Tomic launched a verbal attack on Hewitt earlier this year during the first grand slam of the season. Saying that nobody in the Australian team liked him and that he was putting himself ahead of his fellow players.
Responding to the comments, Hewitt has accused his compatriot of previously threatening him and his family with physical violence and blackmailing him. Something that has been denied by the ex world No.17, who said he never involved Hewitt’s family in the feud.
“I did message him, threatening, I said … ‘If you come one metre from me I will knock you out’. And he knows that ‘if you ever try talk to me, come one metre from me’, I stand by that,” Tomic said.
“But did I mention his family? That’s pretty low. How low do you have to be to mention family, kids, and stuff? I think that’s one of the lowest things that I’ve ever heard from him. I stand by my threats towards him, but not to his family.”
One of the biggest questions regarding the incident is why the legal action has been launched now, nine years after it first happened. When questioned, Tomic insisted that he has been a victim before later taking aim at Hewitt’s ongoing reign within Tennis Australia.
“He’s got too much power and it’s not fair. It’s not fair for Davis Cup. It’s not fair for players that are not getting the chance to play Davis Cup because he’s controlling the system down there,” he said.
On Saturday the chief executive of Tennis Australia, Craig Tiley, said that his fellow player was ‘trying to deliberately damage’ his organisation. Tiley has backed Hewitt throughout the argument and said it is right to not include Tomic in the Davis Cup.
Despite not having Tiley’s support, Tomic has vowed to continue speaking his mind.
“I’m only speaking the honest truth of what I know and what I think, and what a lot of people know, as well, but are too afraid to come out,” he concluded.
