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Bernard Tomic has hit back at Lleyton Hewitt over accusations he threatened the Davis Cup captain's family, calling the two-time grand slam winner a "liar".
Key points:
- Bernard Tomic says that he did not threaten Hewitt's family and that he is a liar
- Lleyton Hewitt said Tomic would never play Davis Cup tennis as long as he is captain
- Tomic has not played Davis Cup tennis since 2016, when Hewitt became captain
Hewitt accused the Queenslander of "blackmail" and said he made "physical" threats against his family in an extraordinary press conference in which he labelled Tomic a "clown" and said he would never play for Australia again in the Davis Cup while he was captain.
But Tomic denied Hewitt's claims in an interview with the Herald Sun.
"I have never threatened his family," Tomic said.
"Nice, Lleyton. To think how low of a person you actually … [it's] 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."
Tomic sparked the row after his first-round defeat to sixth-seed Marin Cilic, saying current players disliked Hewitt and there was a conflict of interest in his team selections.
Hewitt initially kept his counsel before firing back in his dramatic press conference after exiting the doubles competition with partner John-Patrick Smith in a three-set defeat to Wesley Koolhof and Marcus Daniell.
Hewitt's accusation of blackmail related to Tomic questioning the awarding of Australian Open wildcards and threatening to not play the Davis Cup.
Earlier in the week, Tomic told the Herald Sun that he had threatened Hewitt two years ago, saying he would "knock him out" if he tried to talk to him.
"It started because of blackmails to do with [Australian Open] wildcards. This was over a year ago," Hewitt said.
Tomic has not played Davis Cup since 2016, Hewitt's first year in charge.
Topics: sport, tennis, australian-open, australia, vic, melbourne-3000
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