Bernard Tomic releases Davis Cup captain Lleyton Hewitt

Tomic was sent off in two sets against World No. 6 Marin Cilic, 6-2, 6-4 and 7-6 in a match that lasted little more than two hours.

The world number 88, 26, was in a good mood after the loss and spoke with a grin as he poured fuel into his dispute with Hewitt and Tennis Australia.

Tomic made a series of sensational accusations against Hewitt, including:

One suggestion: Hewitt has been promoting Australian players on the Davis Cup team who have a link with the management company in which he holds partial participation.

– A statement that the other Aussie stars, Thanasi Kokkinakis and Nick Kyrgios, are also boycotting the team, while Lleyton remains captain.

– A claim that the Aussie Cup Davis Cup system was broken under the leadership of Hewitt; and

– A requirement that Hewitt be replaced by a new captain who is more like former Australian Davis Cup captain Wally Masur.

Tomic's dramatic press conference lasted only five minutes before an Australian media official from the Australian Open closed it down.

The former top 20 player left the room with a smile and joked at the exit he wanted reporters to "have fun with."

"We have a lot of problems that not all players are happy about," said Tomic when asked if he expects to play Davis Cup this year.

"The players I spoke to are not in. I myself, Kokkinakis, Kyrgios, I think that once this is resolved, let's see.I'm waiting for my call a few years ago.I knew something was wrong with the Davis Cup. there are Kokkinakis and Nick who are not playing because they have problems with some people.I hope this can be done and the best players can be playing for Australia. "

It comes less than a week after a bombastic report that Kokkinakis also disagreed with Hewitt because of a scorn for the national team.

Kokkinakis referred to the report as "bulls ****" on the eve of the Open.

Tomic said that Kyrgios and Kokkinakis will only consider returning to Davis Cup when "the best players in Australia" are being selected to play the singles rubbers.

"It sucks to see some of the people who are there doing the wrong things," he said.

"I think we all know who these people are. I hope it can be solved and the best players can be playing. Until then, the person who is there does not let the players play. "

When asked to clarify his position, he unloaded it on Hewitt.

He also took an extraordinary dose of marijuana in Hewitt for playing Davis Cup at the expense of younger players.

"It's all Lleyton. I'll tell you honestly. Nobody likes him any more, "said Tomic.

"He's doing the wrong thing. He's playing Davis Cup. I thought he'd retired. He's playing all those games and things like that.

"Absolutely, Kokkinakis, Kyrgios, we do not want to play anymore because he's ruined. He ruined the system. Like, go away. I thought he retired, why are you still in tennis? Why do you still play all those doubles tournaments? "

His most dramatic charge was a suggestion that there is a conspiracy in the Davis Cup field to favor players belonging to Hewitt's management company.

"It's funny all those players who have wildcards in our system, I think they're guys like (Alex) Bolt … They're all under his wing, so he gets a percentage of that," Tomic said.

"It's a conflict of interest and I find that terrible. Am I right or wrong?

"They are all under his wing, under the management company." So it's all a conflict of interest. "The more they do here, the more he takes." You know what he's doing and I think it's wrong.

"He's in Davis Cup and he's doing the wrong thing and we do not want to play any more. I hope he can move and we can have a good captain again."

Tomic said unhappy Australian players told him that Hewitt did not put them in first place.

"He does not put the players in the first place, from what I heard last year," said Tomic.

"He does not put the players in the first place He does not put Nick first He does not put Kokkinakis in the first place He always does things himself and is not good You're not playing hand You're retired It's not good Wally was a great captain.Wally Masur was an unbelievable Davis Cup captain.He was someone everyone liked.

He said he still has immense respect for Hewitt as a player but believes he has lost the plot as Davis Cup captain.

"There's no such thing as Lleyton's legacy … his tennis history speaks for itself," Tomic said.

"He's an absolute champion, but what he's doing now is wrong."

He said that Australia needs a very different Davis Cup captain.

"Someone who is doing the right thing. The honest thing. Someone who is not doing things for himself, "Tomic said when asked to name his preferred candidate to replace Hewitt.

"Someone who is doing what is best for the team. It's all about the players. Davis Cup is all about the players. It's not about the captain sitting in the chair.

He said he did not talk to Tennis Australia about his concerns, but says he already knows about his complaints.