Australia’s Davis Cup captain Lleyton Hewitt has expressed displeasure at Bernard Tomic pulling out of the upcoming tie against Czech Republic.

Tomic, currently ranked no. 27 in the world, reportedly made himself unavailable for the match-up following his conflict with Tennis Australia over the funding of his tennis-playing younger sister, Sara Tomic.

However, Hewitt wasn’t pleased with the 24-year-old’s decision. “It’s obviously disappointing not to have him available because he has played so well for Australia in the past and been a regular in the team,” the former World No. 1 was quoted as saying by Perth Now.

He added: “He needs to make decisions for his reasons, but I’m not going to go out and beg guys to play for their country. It’s a privilege and an honour to wear the green and gold and I want guys that are fully committed to the cause. It’s his decision, certainly I don’t agree with it, but we’ve got to move on.”

In Tomic’s absence, Australia will be represented by Nick Kyrgios, Sam Groth, Jordan Thompson, and John Peers for the World Group opener, scheduled to be held from February 3-5 at Kooyong.