Lleyton Hewitt, Australian Davis Cup captain, said Tuesday it is "highly doubtful" Bernard Tomic would play for Australia again, after the troubled tennis star this week declared the team could not win the event without him.
Speaking ahead of their World Group first round tie against Germany in Brisbane at the weekend, Hewitt said Australia was in good stead with its current team -- including Nick Kyrgios, Jordan Thompson and up-and-comer Alex De Minaur -- without Tomic.
"It's highly doubtful," Hewitt send when asked about the chance of a Tomic return. "With the team comaraderie we have at the moment, it is as good as I've been a part of in a long time."
"We fully believe that the players we have here, we can go a long way," he added.
Tomic created a stir this week in a television interview when he declared Australia could not win the Davis Cup without him.
"I love Davis Cup to bits, it's not that I don't want to play," he told Channel 10 on Monday.
But the 25-year-old said he had problems with governing body Tennis Australia.
"I can't talk about it, and obviously it is just going to have to take time to clear and fix... because I know the only way for Australia to win Davis Cup is for me and Nick (Kyrgios) playing," he said.
Tomic has a 17-4 win-loss record playing Davis Cup but has not played for the national team for over 12 months.
A long-time supporter of Tomic, Hewitt brushed aside the troubled star's latest outburst.
"There is probably a lot more that plays out behind the scenes than what Bernie says publicly," he said.
"For me, he's made some mistakes and it will be a long way back."
Once a rising star, the 25-year-old's ranking has plunged after a car-crash 2017 season in which he admitted he was "bored" and not always giving 100 percent.
Tomic made headlines earlier this month after boasting "I just count my millions" after he failed to qualify for the Australian Open.
He is currently appearing on the reality show "I'm a Celebrity … Get me out of here!", but has threatened to leave just two days after entering the South African jungle for the series.
Article from AFP
