During his post-match conference following his doubles loss in the first round of the Australian Open Thursday night, Hewitt addressed the rift between himself and his one-time mentee, claiming Tomic had threatened him.
"He (Tomic) won't play Davis Cup while I have anything to do with it,' Hewitt told reporters," Hewitt told reporters.
Hewitt continued, "For me, it was probably the abuse that I copped from him that in the end I drew a line in the sand and I haven't spoken to him since."
Detailing the full extent of their fallout, the two-time grand slam winner claimed the one-time 17th seed has been threatening his family,
"I think the threats that I've received for me and my family that I've had for a year and a half now … I don't think anyone would reach out to a person that speaks like that."
Although Hewitt once mentored Tomic, it seems now their relationship is irreparable, with Hewitt expressing disappointment over the breakdown of their relationship,
"For me, the biggest frustration is I feel like I really went out of my way to help Bernie." Hewitt continued, "I've spent a lot of time with him one-on-one at a lot of tournaments, tried to get a coaching structure and physical team around him to give him the best opportunity and at the end of the day, he still kept making the wrong mistakes."
US tennis great John McInroe told Channel Nine Hewitt's explosive post-match conference as 'pouring gasoline on the fire'.
The feud became public knowledge after Tomic hurled insults at Hewitt in his post-match conference Monday night.