Former United States Davis Cup captain Jim Courier says one of his biggest challenges in the role was keeping happy the "high-ego and high-confidence" players who missed out on selection.
As Tennis Australia battles to contain Australia’s Davis Cup soap opera, which was sparked by controversial claims from Bernard Tomic about alleged player favouritism, two-time Australian Open champion Courier said player dynamics were a constant battle.
Jim Courier chats with Lleyton Hewitt on court at the 2005 Australian Open.Credit:Vince Caligiuri
In Melbourne commentating on the Open for host broadcaster Nine, Courier said: "The challenge from my personal lens was, in keeping the players who weren’t selected, happy.
"That was something that I had to constantly nurture and work on. But I managed to maintain those relationships and keep everyone available which is probably the most important thing you can do as a captain – to make sure your best players are playing."
Courier, who finished up in the role late last year after eight years, said he was fortunate he had access to many of his country’s best players who were committed to the historic men’s teams event.
"So whether you’re managing a family, or … a business or managing a team of high-ego, high-confidence athletes, there are challenges," Courier told The Age.
"Knowing how to get people in the right frame of mind to work together is a skill.
"I found it to be a good challenge. As my time as an American Davis Cup captain I had players that wanted to play Davis Cup."
Tomic sent shockwaves around Melbourne Park on Monday night by, among other claims, suggesting Hewitt in his role as Australia's Davis Cup captain was selfish and divisive and needed to "go away".
Tomic claimed that Nick Kyrgios, who exited Melbourne Park in the first round, was among the players who would not play under Hewitt.
After his defeat to former Wimbledon finalist Milos Raonic, Kyrgios sought to play down the apparent Davis Cup selection and player favouritism controversy.
Kyrgios said he would make himself available to play Davis Cup and managed tepid support for Hewitt as the Davis Cup captain.
Asked if there was a rift between him and Hewitt, Kyrgios could offer only a comment of "not really" and snarled when questioned further.
Asked also if he supported Hewitt as Davis Cup captain, he eventually replied "sure".
With Michael Gleeson
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