ZCZC
BSP-05
TENNIS-AUS-OPEN-HEWITT-TOMIC
Tomic’s father threatens ‘liar’ Hewitt with legal action
MELBOURNE, Jan 19, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – Bernard Tomic has called Lleyton
Hewitt a “liar” after the Australian Davis Cup captain claimed he had been
blackmailed and physically threatened by the firebrand, whose father Saturday
said he planned legal action against the veteran.
The explosive allegations on Thursday by Hewitt followed an ugly war of
words in which Tomic claimed the two-time Grand Slam champion had ruined the
national system and “no one likes him any more”.
Hewitt responded by calling Tomic “a clown”, while alleging he attempted to
blackmail him by demanding wildcards and threatening to refuse to play Davis
Cup.
He also said he and his family had been physically threatened.
“I think the threats that I have received for me and my family, that I’ve
had for a year-and-a-half now, I don’t think anyone would reach out to a
person that speaks like that,” said Hewitt, with their relationship in
tatters.
Tomic told the Herald Sun newspaper late Friday: “I have never threatened
his family.
“Nice, Lleyton. To think how low of a person you actually are. (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.”
On Saturday, his father John Tomic said he planned legal action against
Hewitt over an incident he claimed occurred in 2010 when his son was a Davis
Cup debutant.
At the time Bernard was 17 and he alleged the teenager was left
traumatised.
John Hewitt claimed to the Sydney Morning Herald that Hewitt came to his
son’s hotel room during an Australian tie against Taiwan in March 2010 and
pressured him to inform who from Tennis Australia was telling him what to say
publicly.
Hewitt, who was not playing after hip surgery, had at the time been highly
critical of TA during a period of turmoil for the sport’s governing body.
“He tried to force him to say something,” Tomic senior told the newspaper.
“Bernard was shocked, he couldn’t sleep all night.
“How can you come in the room and threaten him and say you won’t play Davis
Cup and say you won’t be close to me if you don’t tell me who from Tennis
Australia is telling you what to say?”
He told the newspaper he would take legal action against Hewitt next week.
“We will prove that Bernard has trauma from 2010 when Bernard was the
youngest player in Davis Cup for Australia,” he said.
“They will try to protect him but we will find the truth in the court.”
BSS/AFP/SSS/0929 hrs