Australian captain Pat Rafter has allayed concerns about Lleyton Hewitt's toe injury by selecting him and boom teenager Bernard Tomic for the upcoming Davis Cup tie against China.
Hewitt showed glimpses of his best during the Australian Open with the former world No.1 progressing to the fourth round where he pushed current No.1 Novak Djokovic all the way before losing in four sets.
Tomic matched Hewitt's performance with a similarly impressive run that included wins over seeded players Fernando Verdasco and Alexandr Dolgopolov.
Matthew Ebden, who lost to Kei Nishikori in the second round, has also been selected along with Chris Guccione with Rafter saying that all four players 'picked themselves'.
The only concern surrounds Hewitt's foot with the 30-year-old to be assessed over the coming days to see if he will be available for the tie in Geelong on February 10-12.
"Yeah. We'll see how he goes, how he pulls up the next few days as well. We'll go to training," Rafter said.
"Yeah, if it comes up badly, we'll pick another player to come along."
Rafter was delighted with Hewitt's performance at Melbourne Park and was particularly pleased with how his body held up despite an interrupted preparation.
"Those last couple sets against Djokovic were amazing. It just took me back to those days when he was playing great tennis," he said.
"He moved really well. You know, I thought he lost a step over the last couple years, but he seemed to find it."
"I thought he was going to struggle physically. He didn't. In terms of his heart and can he last those matches, and he had tough matches, he just surprised me everywhere."
"His whole game seemed to be back to where it was. It was really exciting to see. I was really proud of him."
Rafter was full of praise for 19-year-old Tomic with the two-time US Open champion saying he is showing all the signs of a future top 10 player.
"I thought he moved really well, especially in the first match against Verdasco. His fitness has improved. His whole mental well-being is going the right direction," Rafter said.
"I was very critical of him last year. He wasn't in the right head space. I think the improvements he's made now, he's gone the right direction, and he really impressed me over this summer. He's going to be a very, very good player."
"I think he can do it. It's hard to say, though. Top 10 is a big step. It's another one. He's showing me all the signs he can be there," he said.
"I'm interested to see how he goes on the clay. It's probably his least comfortable surface."
"But he did also mention that he had a couple good matches in Monte-Carlo last year and he felt pretty comfortable. I'm interested to see where that is."
Youngster Blake Mott and Nick Kyrgios are also in the team, while Rafter said that Hewitt and Guccione is the likely doubles combination.