Davis Cup 2016: Bernard Tomic accuses his team-mate Nick Kyrgios of faking injury

Bernard Tomic’s four-set loss to John Isner helped seal Australia’s defeat against USA (Getty Images)

If Lleyton Hewitt had any doubts about how tough a job Davis Cup captaincy can be they were surely erased on Sunday. Not only did his first match in charge of Australia end in defeat at home to the United States but it also saw his top player, Bernard Tomic, launch into a tirade of criticism of Nick Kyrgios, claiming his absent compatriot had twice missed ties by faking injuries.

Kyrgios, who had played in tournaments in Marseille and Dubai in the previous fortnight, cited a virus when he pulled out of the tie in Melbourne last week. Twelve months ago he withdrew from Australia’s tie against the Czech Republic with a back injury but returned in the Indian Wells Masters the following week.

During Tomic’s four-set defeat yesterday to John Isner, which secured the Americans’ passage to the quarter-finals, courtside microphones picked up the Australian No 1 telling Hewitt: “Nick’s sitting down in Canberra. It’s bulls*** he’s sick.”

He later told reporters that he would “lose respect” if Kyrgios plays in Indian Wells this week. “He didn’t come to Czech and had stress fractures and somehow played Indian Wells and felt good,” Tomic said. “Now it’s going to be funny for me to see whether he plays [in Indian Wells this year].”

Tomic also said that he been playing with wrist pain throughout the tie and would have withdrawn if it had been any competition other than the Davis Cup,

Hewitt, who insisted there was “no doubt” that Kyrgios was unwell, took over as captain after a 2015 campaign highlighted by disharmony in the Australian camp. Tomic was dropped from the team for criticising senior Australian officials while Kyrgios was omitted from the semi-final against Britain following his sledging of Stan Wawrinka during a match in Canada.

The Czech Republic beat Germany 3-2 in Hannover when Lukas Rosol beat the 18-year-old debutant Alexander Zverev 6-2, 6-3, 6-1 after Tomas Berdych had been forced to retire against Philipp Kohlschreiber because of a thigh injury when trailing by two sets to love. Leonardo Mayer’s second singles win of the weekend secured Argentina’s victory over Poland in Gdansk. Mayer beat Michal Przysiezny 6-7, 7-6, 6-2, 6-3.