Davis Cup hero Kokkinakis repays then lauds Hewitt

Humble hero Thanasi Kokkinakis is hailing Lleyton Hewitt as "the best coach in the world" after the injury-plagued talent answered a courageous captain's call with a Davis Cup win for the ages in Spain.

Kokkinakis held his nerve to fend off four match points and mercurial American grand slam semi-finalist Ben Shelton to prevail 6-1 4-6 7-6 (16-14) in one of the longest tiebreakers in Davis Cup history.

The epic victory, which came on his seventh match point, gave Australia a vital 1-0 lead in the quarter-final tie in Malaga after Hewitt surprisingly thrust Kokkinakis into the opening rubber ahead of the in-form and higher-ranked Alexei Popyrin and Jordan Thompson.

Hindered by a hip injury, brave Australian No.1 Alex de Minaur then succumbed 6-3 6-4 to world No.4 Taylor Fritz in the second singles match before Thompson and Matt Ebden piloted Hewitt's side into the semi-finals for a third straight year with a 6-4 6-4 victory over Shelton and Tommy Paul in the deciding doubles.

Kokkinakis, though, was the undoubted - and unexpected - star.

With title glory in Montreal in August, Popyrin was the first Australian since Hewitt in 2003 to win a Masters 1000 crown, before taking down the so-called GOAT Novak Djokovic at the US Open four weeks later.

Thompson has also cracked the world's top 30 for the first time with his own breakout season featuring title success in Mexico, a charge to the last 16 in New York and grand slam doubles glory at Flushing Meadows with Max Purcell.

But, boom or bust, Hewitt continued to back Kokkinakis, despite the 28-year-old being ranked more than 50 places below both Popyrin and Thompson.

Kokkinakis was fresh off winning this month's NSW Open ATP Challenger Tour event in Sydney after also upsetting 2023 Australian Open runner-up Stefanos Tsitsipas at the US Open in September.

But Kokkinakis said playing for Hewitt and his country helped take his game to new levels after withstanding 21 aces from Shelton in one of the most mature displays of the South Australian's rollercoaster career.

"Seeing the boys on the sidelines, seeing Lleyton, obviously an idol growing up, getting super fired up and in my ear keeping me going motivated, I think it's massive," he said.

"He's probably, I'd say, the best coach in the world for me. He kind of always tries to get the most out of myself, and he brings a sort of level and intensity and effort from me that I find it hard to replicate anywhere else.

"It's great playing for him and, as a captain, when someone like that tells you something, it's not too often you can say anything back because he's been there and done it all."

Hewitt now faces another crucial captaincy call as Australia take on defending champions Italy in a rematch of last year's Cup final.

The skipper must be tempted to rest the jaded de Minaur, who possesses a diabolical none-from-eight record against Italy's rampant world No.1 Jannik Sinner.

If he does sit de Minaur out, Popyrin, as Australia's second-ranked player, would be thrust into a showdown with Sinner.

That would leave Kokkinakis - or world No.26 Thompson - to likely face the 17th-ranked Lorenzo Musetti in the opening singles match on Saturday night.