"Yeah, I did message him." Bernard Tomic's threat to Lleyton Hewitt on national television.

Bernard Tomic has affirmed his threat to “knock out” Lleyton Hewitt – deciding to one-up it on national television.

In the 60 Minutes interview that aired on Sunday night, the troubled Australian tennis star confirmed he sent a threatening text message to the Davis Cup captain and now he “stand(s) by it”.

“Yeah, I did message him. I said exactly the words, ‘I will knock you out if you come one metre from me’, and he knows that. I stand by that,” Tomic said.

However, he denied other claims Hewitt made as a simmering feud reached boiling point during the Australian Open, after Tomic lashed out at Hewitt for his Davis Cup management choices.

Viewers also noticed Tomic’s constant winking during the interview: 

Last month Hewitt said he had received threats “for me and my family” from Tomic for “a year and a half now”, saying some involved his wife Bec Hewitt.

Tomic vehemently denied threatening Hewitt’s family to 60 Minutes reporter Allison Langdon.

“But did I mention his family? That’s pretty low. Mention family, kids, and stuff? How low do you have to be, I think that’s one of the lowest things I’ve ever heard from him.

“I stand by my threats to him, but not to his family.

“I’ve never threatened kids. Absolutely not. That’s so wrong. that’s really low. For him to say that, that’s really low.”

And that's when Tomic decided to bolster his threat.

"To go that low and make me look like that, now he’s said that, maybe if he comes two metres from me," he said, laughing.

This, along with Tomic's continuous winking at Langdon throughout, caused many viewers to wonder if the 26-year-old was taking the interview - or his reputation - seriously.

Bernard Tomic winking like he’s proud of his reputation is really unsettling #60minutes

— Eliza Velk (@elizavelk) February 3, 2019

Can’t tell if #BernardTomic has a twitchy eye or is hitting on the journo...???????????? #60minutes

— ???????? HSK ???????????????? (@hsophiak) February 3, 2019

Who is Bernard Tomic winking at? It’s so uncomfortable watching it, I can’t imagine how uncomfortable it must have made @AllisonLangdon feel. @60Mins #60minutes @nbnnews

— Stephanie (@StephPascoe) February 3, 2019

Bet he wouldn’t wink like that if he was being interviewed by a man. So inappropriate. #60minutes #tomic

— Monique Mayze (@moniquemayze) February 3, 2019

Meanwhile, Tomic and his father John, who was also interviewed, maintained that Hewitt had "threatened" and "victimised" him as a teen ahead of a Davis Cup tie in 2010.

"I was harassed. I was intimidated, that’s all I’ll say. I was 16 years old in Melbourne, Grand Hyatt, at a Davis Cup tie. I’ll stand by that. Further matters will be taking place," he said. Tomic was actually 17 years old in March 2010.

On the subject of his career and his likability, Tomic was willing to admit he could have been better at this stage of his career, but insisted he had "achieved a lot".

"Look, we can’t all be we can’t all be Roger Federer. We can’t all be Rafael Nadal. We can’t all be Michael Jordan," he said.

"I’ve achieved a lot. In my sport, in my career, many, many years at the top of my sport. But we can’t all be Roger Federer. Am I right, or can we?

"I’ve had an unbelievable career so far."