Lleyton Hewitt has laughed off Bernard Tomic’s astonishing attack on him, saying he loved helping Australian players prepare for the Davis Cup.

Hewitt, 37, said he had not taken Tomic’s comments seriously.

“I had a bit of a laugh actually,” Hewitt told Channel Nine.

“It’s kind of Bernie being Bernie, especially after a loss last night and going in and complaining about a few things.

“So, for me, I kind of just laugh it off and move forward.”

The Davis Cup captain, who Tomic accused of having a conflict of interest, said he believed he enjoyed a solid relationship with Australia’s players, despite Tomic saying Nick Kyrgios and Thanasi Kokkinakis were frustrated with the two-time major winner.

“I don’t think that there is a rift,” he said.

“There is always communication going on between the captain, coaches and players, and leading into the next [Davis Cup] tie that will all happen.

“Those boys [Kyrgios and Kokkinakis] are going on for big matches today … we’ve spoken before the Australian Open and we will continue to speak after the Australian Open leading into the Davis Cup tie.

“For me, I love being a part and helping the Australian players as much as possible.”

Grand slam doubles great Todd Woodbridge said Tomic’s attack was a blatant attempt to deflect from his poor performance on Day 1.

Tomic accused the former World No.1 of splitting Australia’s playing ranks and promoting talent for personal financial gain.

“No one likes him any more,” Tomic said of Hewitt.

“We have a lot of issues that not a lot of players are happy about. We all know who those players are. Myself, (Thanasi) Kokkinakis, (Nick) Kyrgios.”

Tomic alleged that Hewitt’s promotion of Australian Open debutant Marc Polmans, the world No.169, and Alex Bolt, who has played at three majors without winning a match, was improper.

“He used to hate Tennis Australia, it’s weird. Now he loves them. What’s happened here?” he said.

I guess he’s using them for other things and resources and for his pay cheque.

“All these guys that got wildcards are under a system … Polmans, Bolty, Jordan Thompson.

“They’re all under Lleyton’s wing under the management company. It’s all conflict of interest.”

Kokkinakis, who defeated Roger Federer in an injury-ravaged 2018, was overlooked for a wildcard at the 2019 tournament in favour of Alexei Popyrin, Polmans and Bolt.

Kokkinakis, 22, was forced on Tuesday to retire from his first-round match against Japan’s Taro Daniel trailing 4-2 in the second set after winning the first set.

Meanwhile, Bolt provided another highlight when he came from a set down to beat American James Sock 4-6 6-3 6-2 6-2.

Woodbridge did not address the claims of favouritism, but told 3AW Radio that Tomic had fallen into the habit of blaming others for losing.

“One of the most disappointing things here is it’s become his habit of deflecting a loss and deflecting what work he does to try to get better as a tennis player,” said Woodbridge, a commentator who has held various Tennis Australia roles.

“Lleyton copped it last night. The last one that copped it, at Wimbledon a couple of years ago, was Pat Rafter.”

Tomic was defeated 6-2 6-4 7-6 (7-3) by world No.7 Marin Cilic on his Australian Open return, a year after losing in qualifying for his home grand slam.

He then closed the door on a Davis Cup return under Hewitt and exposed deep rifts among Australian players.

“Lleyton’s legacy and his tennis speaks for itself. He’s an unbelievable champion. But what he’s doing now is wrong.

“I hope he gets moved and we can go back to having a good captain.”

Watch Tomic’s incredible spray below

Former coach Roger Rasheed defended Hewitt’s management of the national team, saying he had the right to steer it as he wished.

“It’s like a coach of a football team,” Rasheed told Sky Sport Radio.

“There are always going to be players that actually love the coach. There is going to be a few players, if they’re not getting a game and they think they should be getting a game, they’ll actually have different feelings for the coach,” he said.

Rasheed advised Tomic to “put his head down” and focus on his fitness to play day in, day out on the tour.

Tennis Australia is yet to comment on Tomic’s allegations.

Tomic rebuilt his world ranking after a sabbatical in 2018 – which included a stint on reality TV show I’m A Celebrity … Get Me Out Of Here! – with two titles that earned him direct acceptance into the 2019 Open.

Tomic is not scheduled to play men’s doubles, and is likely to leave Melbourne Park following his first-round defeat.

-with AAP