Hewitt backers stand firm as he takes court

The rise of Alex De Minaur is proof of the good job Lleyton Hewitt is doing says John Newcombe.

Lleyton Hewitt (left) watches his doubles partner from the Sydney International, Jordan Thompson, in his match against Andreas Seppi. Picture: AAP

As Lleyton Hewitt steps out of a storm provoked by Bernard Tomic and on to the courts at Melbourne Park for doubles today, the debate surrounding the Davis Cup captain’s influence and role in the game has continued.

The 37-year-old has received backing from Australian legends, current tour players and at least one tournament director from around the world amid suggestions his relationship has soured with players including Thanasi Kokkinakis and Nick Kyrgios.

Jordan Thompson, who partnered Hewitt to the semi-finals of the Sydney International last week, declared he did not see a problem with the former world No 1 continuing to play doubles against the backdrop of a recent ­review at Tennis Australia that­ ­focused on the high-performance and participation departments.

The review is due to be delivered in coming weeks as a blueprint for the national body. A similar probe a couple of years ago led to a restructuring in coaching ranks.

The Australian understands Hewitt had his contract extended last year, though there has been a change in the format of the Davis Cup, with Australia to host Bosnia-Herzegovina in a two-day tie in Adelaide next month in the hope of qualifying for the finals held in November.

Davis Cup representatives Matt Ebden and Kokkinakis have either refused to answer when asked if they are supportive of ­Hewitt in the captaincy role or suggested there are some aspects of his leadership that could be ­improved.

It follows the extraordinary critique from Tomic, who has returned to the Gold Coast to recover and prepare for a tournament in Cleveland later this month, which would have precluded him from Davis Cup duties in the extremely unlikely event he was under consideration.

Australia’s last grand slam winner Sam Stosur said it was clear the male ranks have “their issues” but hoped the controversy did not detract from the good work of women led by Ash Barty, who progressed to the third round in convincing fashion yesterday.

But Thompson, who was beaten by Andreas Seppi yesterday, voiced his support for Hewitt and said his presence had assisted his development.

“He is very good for me and has been there a lot and I appreciate it,” he said.

“We made the semi-finals and came within a whisker of making the finals, so I don’t see what the problem is about him still playing.

“I mean, the semi-finals were not a bad result. I am happy he wanted to play with me. It was a good result.”

Quizzed as to whether it might be better for a younger player to be afforded the opportunity, Thompson said; “There could be plenty of arguments about it. Some people can think that but I don’t see what the problem is.”

And John Newcombe pointed to the emergence of Alex De Minaur when declaring Hewitt needed to stick to his guns.

“I think Lleyton’s doing an ­unbelievable job,” he said.

“I said to Lleyton the other day, things that are being said and all that, take the high ground. You don’t have to defend yourself. Everyone sees what you’re doing out there.

“You’re busting your arse, you’ve got a great group of young people working for you that are working at 100 per cent.

“They all love you, they respect what you’re doing for them and, if people want to bad-name you, well OK, that’s their opinion.”

Among the allegations levelled by Tomic is that Hewitt is gaming the system to boost his income by accepting wildcards into Australian events, a factor the disgruntled Queenslander described as a conflict of interest.

The 2002 Wimbledon champion, who will partner John-Patrick Smith on a wildcard against Kiwi Marcus Daniell and Dutchman Wesley Koolhof in the last match on court seven today, previously played with De Minaur in Brisbane before the semi-final run with Thompson.

His manager David Drysdale, who clarified that his management company did not look after any of the competitors Tomic ­alleged were favoured by Hewitt, said his client is in demand at events across the world.

Hewitt last year competed in six doubles tournaments outside Australia, including the Queen’s Club Championships and Wimbledon.

And he is set to partner Australian No 1 De Minaur in the New York Open next month amid ­expressions of interest.

“There is no conflict of interest from Lleyton’s point of view,” Drysdale told The Australian.

“Every time I talk to a tournament director across the world, they want to know about Lleyton playing doubles, because they know he brings people through the gates.

“There are tournament directors already asking me about the rest of the year. And nine times out of 10 he has played with younger players on the court to help their development.”