'I can’t relate to anything (Tomic) says anymore’
‘You’d also be wrong if you tried to lump me in the same category as Bernard Tomic’
Nick Kyrgios has ripped apart the veneer of friendship between he and fellow Australian Bernard Tomic, saying his erstwhile Davis Cup teammate has "lost his way" and "doesn't make sense".
Kyrgios will lead Australia's charge at the Davis Cup semi-final against Belgium which starts later on Friday in Brussels but Tomic has been omitted after missing a string of tournaments that have seen his ranking plummet to 146.
The duo have described each other as friends and allies in the past, and occasionally defended each other against accusations of brattish behaviour on and off the court.
But Kyrgios distanced himself from the player who said he was "bored" with tennis at Wimbledon and has since bragged about his earnings despite a lack of commitment to the game.
"You’d also be wrong if you tried to lump me in the same category as Bernard Tomic," world number 20 Kyrgios wrote in a blog on the website www.playersvoice.com.au.
"Bernie has lost his way. We were pretty good mates when I was younger.
"I obviously didn’t know the tennis tour too well back then and we were guys of similar age, representing the same country, on the road at many of the same tournaments.
"But a lot has changed since then. He needs to figure out what he wants to do."
Tomic has been a committed Davis Cup servant in the past but skipped the home quarter-final against the United States in April while in the midst of a form slump.
After being knocked out of the US Open first round last month, he told reporters he was "not the smartest guy in the world" and tennis was all he knew.
Davis Cup captain Lleyton Hewitt said this week that Tomic was "a long way off" a recall and has instead opted for world number 185 John Millman to lead off the singles against Belgian number one David Goffin later on Friday.
"I can’t relate to anything (Tomic) says anymore," said Kyrgios, who will meet Steve Darcis in the second singles match.
"He says one thing and he does the other. And he contradicts himself all the time.
"He says tennis doesn’t make him happy, that he doesn’t really like the game, yet he says the only thing that will really make him happy is winning a grand slam. It doesn’t make sense at all."
Australia will bid for a place in the final for the first time since their run to the title in 2003.
Goffin declares himself fit for Australia Davis Cup tie
Belgian number one David Goffin declared himself fully fit on Thursday ahead of his country's Davis Cup semi-final against Australia this weekend.
Goffin was hampered by an injury to his left knee during the U.S. Open earlier this month and was Belgium's chief concern going into the tie on clay in Brussels.
"I am 100 percent ready for this weekend. I almost feel no pain anymore," Goffin said during Thursday's draw.
"I hope that tomorrow everything will be perfect."
Belgium are already weakened by the lack of doubles specialist Joris De Loore.
Goffin, who won his two matches against Italy in the quarter-finals, will open the contest against surprise Australian pick John Millman. Australia coach Lleyton Hewitt had been expected to select Thanasi Kokkinakis as his second singles player.
Hewitt reasoned that Millman was more match-hardened and had played more five-set tennis than Kokkinakis who has only recently returned from a long injury lay-off.
Australia's Kyrgios, world number 20, will face Steve Darcis in Friday's second singles match before Saturday's doubles between the home side's Ruben Bemelmans and Arthur de Greef and John Peers and Jordan Thompson and the reverse singles on Sunday.
Belgium are bidding to appear in the final for the second time in three years after losing out to Great Britain in 2015, while Australia are looking for a first title since 2003.
The weekend's winners will face the victor of France and Serbia who play in nearby Lille.
France wary of Serbia in Davis Cup despite Djokovic absence
France cannot take anything for granted in their Davis Cup semi-final against Serbia even though the visitors will be without Novak Djokovic, team captain Yannick Noah said on Thursday.
French number two Lucas Pouille will kick off the tie on Friday when he takes on Dusan Lajovic in the first singles match. Friday's action will be completed with a second singles match between Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Laslo Djere.
"We try to be clear-headed and be aware that the tie will still be difficult," Noah told a news conference.
"It's not easy because almost everyone thinks it will be a formality."
Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut, fifth in the ATP doubles Race, face Filip Krajinovic and Nenad Zimonjic in Saturday's doubles.
The reverse singles will take place on Sunday.
In the absence of Djokovic world number 80 Lajovic is Serbia's best-ranked player.
The tie is being played on clay at Lille's Pierre Mauroy stadium.
Pouille and Lajovic have a 1-1 head-to-head record but the Frenchman has won their only encounter on the slow surface, last year in Bucharest.
