Hewitt and Tomic call a truce

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tennisfan2010

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Lleyton Hewitt and Bernard Tomic call a truce
Leo Schlink From: Herald Sun February 27, 2010 12:00AM

PEACE has broken out in the cold war between Lleyton Hewitt and Bernard Tomic.

Hewitt, 29, telephoned Tomic, 17, to sort out differences that have existed between the pair since Wimbledon last year.

Tomic, who idolises Hewitt, was elated to take the former world No. 1's call after intervention in the dispute by Tennis Australia presidential candidate Paul McNamee.

The Gold Coast baseliner is poised to make his Australian Davis Cup debut against Chinese Taipei at Margaret Court Arena next week.

Speaking exclusively to the Herald Sun, Hewitt said: "I thought it was important for the future of the Australian team that Bernard and I resolved this issue.

"We had a good discussion and we look forward to playing Davis Cup on the same team for Australia one day."

Hewitt and Tomic had been at odds since June's practice mix-up at Wimbledon.

Hewitt felt he had been snubbed by Tomic's decision to turn down an invitation to hit with him. Tomic denied the accusation, claiming he had been suffering swine flu.

The rift flared in January at the Hopman Cup in Perth where Hewitt said Tomic was unworthy of Davis Cup selection based on his performances.

Hewitt has since tempered his view.

Hewitt said he was impressed by Tomic, winner of the Australian and US Open junior singles titles, as the teenager took eventual Melbourne Park semi-finalist Marin Cilic to five sets last month.

McNamee yesterday played down his role in creating a platform for Hewitt and Tomic to thrash out their differences. But the Hewitt camp indicated he had been pivotal.

McNamee said: "I think it was great that both parties wanted to sort it out - credit to both.

"Especially for Lleyton wanting to pick up the phone and to Bernard for being very, very receptive.

"Bernard really looks up to Lleyton and Lleyton respects Bernard. They were both worried about the potential for ongoing issues. Hopefully, sooner than later, both Lleyton and Bernard will be in the Davis Cup team together.

"It is very important that this is sorted out."

Tomic is expected at Melbourne Park today to start preparations for Friday's tie.

Tomic has been named in the Australian team with Peter Luczak, Carsten Ball and Paul Hanley.

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/h...mic-call-a-truce/story-e6frf9if-1225834948573
 
I didn't know they had telephones in Australia, I'm even more surprised to discover that Hewitt knows how to use one.
 
tsongaali said:
We have some hewitt-haters here:)

I am pleased to say I am not one:p
Click to expand...

No point in hating, Hewitt did and does it his way, in your face.

In Australia we call it.... white-line fever!

Some not like it but... off the court: he is fine.

Great to see <macca> used his pull to sort this out...will be very helpful for Davis Cup team and Oz tennis.

Now just need McNamee as President and we can circle the wagons! :)
 
Whew, just in time.

Anyone seen footage of Tomic winning the 09 Boys US Open?

Have looked on Youtube but nothing there, would like to know how he did it...
 
Not being a Hewitt hater. I quite like watching him play actually. Just playing the role of an jingoistic English snob for fun.
 
that's good for aussie tennis. i think hewitt would be a good mentor for tomic. hewitt knows what it's like to be successful at a young age.
 
Datacipher said:
Are you Black? Hewitt LOVES black people!
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Another clueless person. Did you even see the match? Hewitt said the similarity was that it was the same line judge who called him on foot faults both times. Of course people love to play the race card whenever they can
 
T1000 said:
Another clueless person. Did you even see the match? Hewitt said the similarity was that it was the same line judge who called him on foot faults both times. Of course people love to play the race card whenever they can
Click to expand...

You're right. All the media, Blake, commentators, fans, and I were clueless. That's the exact terminology/phrasing one would use to refer to "both" footfaults. LOL. That was the excuse Hewitt tried to pull-out WAY after the incident. At first, he was too angry even to deny it: you really need to get informed before you flame off.

You are truly gullible or simply none too bright. Nice try.

Little Lleyton knew EXACTLY what he was doing. Umpire "what do you mean by that". Hewitt(feigning ignorance and gesturing at his eyes, in a cutesy poo voice) "huh...eh...I don't know"

Ugly ugly man. The worst racists are the ones who deny it, but the true attitude comes out in the pressure moments.

Then again he called the Australian fans stupid, so he does hate across all colors...
 
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An interesting sidenote to this article by our old friend Leo Schlink is that Fitzy is in the frame...playing down Macca's intervention and saying that it was Hewitt's move to call Tomic...nothing to do with Macca.

Which says a lot about how Fitzy and Macca still think about each other...:)
Unfortunately now the press will be chasing Fitzgerald, Tomic , Hewitt and McNamee for more!

The positive is that Tomic can make his Davis Cup debut in relative peace!?, and with Hewitt backing the team. Which is what everybody wants...the best, fittest, in-form players in the team. The pressure of playing Davis Cup at 17 will be big enough....
 
Datacipher said:
You're right. All the media, Blake, commentators, fans, and I were clueless. That's the exact terminology/phrasing one would use to refer to "both" footfaults. LOL. That was the excuse Hewitt tried to pull-out WAY after the incident. At first, he was too angry even to deny it: you really need to get informed before you flame off.
Click to expand...

well the media would have been the American and they are a bit touchy when it comes to "percieved racism" , pretty obvious hewitt meant that the same linesman kept footfaulting him
 
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Datacipher said:
You're right. All the media, Blake, commentators, fans, and I were clueless. That's the exact terminology/phrasing one would use to refer to "both" footfaults. LOL. That was the excuse Hewitt tried to pull-out WAY after the incident. At first, he was too angry even to deny it: you really need to get informed before you flame off.

You are truly gullible or simply none too bright. Nice try.

Little Lleyton knew EXACTLY what he was doing. Umpire "what do you mean by that". Hewitt(feigning ignorance and gesturing at his eyes, in a cutesy poo voice) "huh...eh...I don't know"

Ugly ugly man. The worst racists are the ones who deny it, but the true attitude comes out in the pressure moments.

Then again he called the Australian fans stupid, so he does hate across all colors...
Click to expand...

I still don't understand how people can call Hewitt a racist, based on that incident. Hewitt pointed out that the line judge and Blake were both black and implied that because of that, the lines judge was favoring Blake and calling against Hewitt. That is not an example of being a racist, that's an example of being biased..
 
Datacipher said:
You're right. All the media, Blake, commentators, fans, and I were clueless. That's the exact terminology/phrasing one would use to refer to "both" footfaults. LOL. That was the excuse Hewitt tried to pull-out WAY after the incident. At first, he was too angry even to deny it: you really need to get informed before you flame off.

You are truly gullible or simply none too bright. Nice try.

Little Lleyton knew EXACTLY what he was doing. Umpire "what do you mean by that". Hewitt(feigning ignorance and gesturing at his eyes, in a cutesy poo voice) "huh...eh...I don't know"

Ugly ugly man. The worst racists are the ones who deny it, but the true attitude comes out in the pressure moments.

Then again he called the Australian fans stupid, so he does hate across all colors...
Click to expand...

It's truly pathetic to see the lengths you will go to insult a person you've never met.
 
Tempest344 said:
well the media would have been the American and they are a bit touchy when it comes to "percieved racism" , pretty obvious hewitt meant that the same linesman kept footfaulting him
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Well that's quite the theory...it's "americans" eh? Funny how international media, including the UK and Japan also interpreted the coments the same way. In addition, the lying and denials Hewitt did after the incident only confirm his guilt. It's really a closed question, if you saw the incident, if you saw his press conferences, it couldn't be more obvious. Even little Lleyton's most ardent supporters didnt' want to touch this one with a 10 foot pole..he was busted.
 
Come on, we all know what the press are like. It's true that only Lleyton Hewitt knows if he was being racist, if he was suggesting that the linesman was being racist or if he was just referring to being footfaulted by the same linesman. But given that Hewitt is friends with people of aboriginal origins and has been close with guys like Andrew McLeod, Peter Luczak and Roger Rasheed, the evidence just doesn't support any accusations of Hewitt being a racist.

I like how Lleyton showed all those critics who attacked him at the time for the Blake incident exactly what he thought of them by going on to win the US Open title in style. Big two fingers up in their direction.
 
jelle v said:
I still don't understand how people can call Hewitt a racist, based on that incident. Hewitt pointed out that the line judge and Blake were both black and implied that because of that, the lines judge was favoring Blake and calling against Hewitt. That is not an example of being a racist, that's an example of being biased..
Click to expand...

That's a great point, and certainly one people should think about. Really, Hewitt was accusing the linesman of being racist, and it's that assumption, based on so little evidence, that some people would find racist in itself: a propogation of stereotypes and the negative assumption that "the black guys must be sticking together!". One wonders, were Blake to have gotten questionable calls, as he did in that match, and others, if he would assume, then openly yell that it must be because the opponent and the linesman are white? Sounds more like something a certain pair of sisters and their father might try to pull!

At the least, it's ugly and speaks poorly of Lleyton. In his defense, it's probably questionable how strongly he truly believed it. He was certainly FIRM in his accusations at the time, and he did not want to recant immediately after the match either...on the other hand, he was angry, and just wished to childishly lash out....sadly, when the first thing you can think of to lash out, is something like that, and you can't help but do it on national TV....you're pretty pathetic.
 
T1000 said:
It's truly pathetic to see the lengths you will go to insult a person you've never met.
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Yes, what a stretch to talk about comments screamed on national television. Clearly we should all ignore them and pretend they never happened. The rational thing to do, would be to ignore the interpretation of everyone that was there, and, ignore Hewitt's initial comments during and post incident, and then, blindly believe the implausible (given the wording) spin he and his handlers tried to put on the situation a day later. That would be the thing to do....were we all Hewitt fanboys.
 
Mustard said:
Come on, we all know what the press are like. It's true that only Lleyton Hewitt knows if he was being racist, if he was suggesting that the linesman was being racist or if he was just referring to being footfaulted by the same linesman. But given that Hewitt is friends with people of aboriginal origins and has been close with guys like Andrew McLeod, Peter Luczak and Roger Rasheed, the evidence just doesn't support any accusations of Hewitt being a racist.

I like how Lleyton showed all those critics who attacked him at the time for the Blake incident exactly what he thought of them by going on to win the US Open title in style. Big two fingers up in their direction.
Click to expand...

This is a great example of emotionalism and a total lack of knowledge. "the evidence" of this event CLEARLY points to him being racist, and that is why all acknowledged it. What doesn't speak to this event at all is parading out "friends". That has nothing to do with this incident. It is in fact, a common defense of almost everyone accused of racism. "look, I have a "friend"...I can't be racist!!"

To use such a defense...yuck....it shows total ignorance about the subtleties and implications of racism. (it's even funnier when you are pointing at Rasheed, Mcleod and LUCZAK! The bros....LOL!)

It isn't wise to stretch far beyond this incident, particularly when the defense is so ridiculous. We do not know the extent of Hewitt's racism or bias, or how it exists today. We can only look at this incident.

Even worse...that last 2 lines...that's just plain ugly. Whether or not, one believed Hewitt's spin....to then confound the serious nature of race relations with winning tennis matches....I can only hope that such a mentality is not reflective of the majority.
 
Datacipher said:
That's a great point, and certainly one people should think about. Really, Hewitt was accusing the linesman of being racist, and it's that assumption, based on so little evidence, that some people would find racist in itself: a propogation of stereotypes and the negative assumption that "the black guys must be sticking together!". One wonders, were Blake to have gotten questionable calls, as he did in that match, and others, if he would assume, then openly yell that it must be because the opponent and the linesman are white? Sounds more like something a certain pair of sisters and their father might try to pull!

At the least, it's ugly and speaks poorly of Lleyton. In his defense, it's probably questionable how strongly he truly believed it. He was certainly FIRM in his accusations at the time, and he did not want to recant immediately after the match either...on the other hand, he was angry, and just wished to childishly lash out....sadly, when the first thing you can think of to lash out, is something like that, and you can't help but do it on national TV....you're pretty pathetic.
Click to expand...

Nice turn of phrase but your arguments are hollow, this is old news!
I don't understand how it can be defensible depending on how strongly he believed it?? There is no defence, I am not defending Lleyton because I am a fanboy, he is and can be a jerk on the court but I have watched him for over 15 years. He is the only junior player I had to physically restrain on a tennis court. If you had played AFL footy you would understand: I explained it: "white line fever" and when the eyes cloud over, it is all over. Like this thread.

The big question is how did a thread start "hewitt and tomic call a truce" turn into lets bag a pro player for racism?? :shock:
And I thought we aussies were aggressive! But...only when stirred! :)

So stop already with your negative waves...Man!
 
Datacipher said:
Even worse...that last 2 lines...that's just plain ugly. Whether or not, one believed Hewitt's spin....to then confound the serious nature of race relations with winning tennis matches....I can only hope that such a mentality is not reflective of the majority.
Click to expand...

Mate, I'm a socialist, about as anti-racist as it gets.
 
raging said:
Nice turn of phrase but your arguments are hollow, this is old news!
I don't understand how it can be defensible depending on how strongly he believed it?? There is no defence, I am not defending Lleyton because I am a fanboy, he is and can be a jerk on the court but I have watched him for over 15 years. He is the only junior player I had to physically restrain on a tennis court. If you had played AFL footy you would understand: I explained it: "white line fever" and when the eyes cloud over, it is all over. Like this thread.

The big question is how did a thread start "hewitt and tomic call a truce" turn into lets bag a pro player for racism?? :shock:
And I thought we aussies were aggressive! But...only when stirred! :)

So stop already with your negative waves...Man!
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I am only defending the "depth" of Hewitt's racism, not the action itself. As to the discussion, that's what happens on open forums, discussions evolve. I am not sure why you'd want to stifle that, but you can't anyways. This particular evolution is certainly not a stretch...Hewitt...conflict....etc. Nevertheless, it is not directly related to Tomic...but oh well! However, the "negative" waves were Hewitt's, not mine, and I'll post about them at my discretion, ok?
 
Push Hewitt Aside

get Kubler and Tomic playing DC straight away


Future looks good if Tennis Australia doesn't stuff it up like they always do!
 
jelle v said:
I still don't understand how people can call Hewitt a racist, based on that incident. Hewitt pointed out that the line judge and Blake were both black and implied that because of that, the lines judge was favoring Blake and calling against Hewitt. That is not an example of being a racist, that's an example of being biased..
Click to expand...

Agreed completely.
 
I still don't understand how people can call Hewitt a racist, based on that incident. Hewitt pointed out that the line judge and Blake were both black and implied that because of that, the lines judge was favoring Blake and calling against Hewitt. That is not an example of being a racist, that's an example of being biased..
Click to expand...


Thats an example of being ignorant, on Hewitt's part. I really don't see how you can interpret Hewitt accusing the line judge of some sort of racial collusion w/ Blake in any other way than gross ignorance on his part.

Let's flip the switch shall we? What if it was Blake or Donald Young in a match, and they got a bad call, and they angrily went up to the umpire and yelled "look at him(pointing to caucasian line judge), and look at him(pointing to caucasian opponent) and tell me what the similarity is!" Hewitt didnt say "this guy keeps faulting me, he is garbage", he made a point of pointing out Blake and the linesperson are black and suggested that Blake was being favored. Cuz you know, everybody knows all black people are working together all of the time.. if that viewpoint isnt ignorant( and not indicative of at least some sort of racial prejudice/bias) I dont know what is.

And if the comments Hewitt said were 'innocent' why did the Umpire reprimand him then and there? Ive seen that footage as recently as a week ago, the ump told Hewitt he would move the linesman to the other side of the court but that Hewitt had to STFU after.(paraphrasing of course)

I wonder if the reaction would be the same as it was for Hewitt? I wonder if it would have been brushed aside or spun? I wonder if Blake wouldnt have been accused of prejudiced, ignorant, 'uppity' racially confrontational et all.

As far as "I have black friends" excuse....its not an excuse at all. John Mayer is currently being lambasted for comments he made in interview. While I dont think his comments are racist, they are definitely embarrasingly ignorant. His defense? "b b but, I have black fwiends!"

Same thing with Micheal Richards( Kramer from "Friends") after his racist diatribe agaisnt a heckler, the first excuse out of his mouth was "b b but I have black fwiends!"



With friends like those....

ETA Back OT: I think Tomic has some game and should be given a shot at Davis Cup. This whole incident seemed silly and unneccesary and I wonder why Hewitt chose to battle it out in the media in the first place. Alot of time and energy wasted that could have been used to foster a more familial community in Aussie tennis. Then again, I have never claimed to understand the thinking of one Lleyton Hewitt
 
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http://www.smh.com.au/sport/tennis/...-of-cup-tie-against-taiwan-20100227-pabf.html
.........Hewitt had been offended by a perceived snub from Tomic at Wimbledon last year, when the young star turned down an invitation to practise with the former world No. 1. Tomic said it was a misunderstanding as he had been suffering from swine flu. The 17-year-old phoned Hewitt in December to try to clear the air. Hewitt called back last week in the lead-up to the Davis Cup tie against Taiwan, in which Tomic is set to become Australia's youngest-ever competitor. ''I called Lleyton in December and it was good to hear back from him about a week [ago],'' Tomic said yesterday. ''We spoke, we've fixed it all up, it was just a bit of a misunderstanding we had, but we're all cool now, which is the main thing.''

Tomic said he was unconcerned it took Hewitt more than two months to get back in touch. ''We wanted to focus on the summer, which is probably why I called him and he didn't call back [until February],'' he said. ''There was the Australian Open coming up and a big season. He gave me a call after that, which was good, and we've sorted it out.''


A mature and dignified Tomic. He is impressive.
Shame on you, Little Lleyton.
 
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