Rookie shows Aussie tennis future bright

Bernard who?

Wayward star Bernard Tomic might think Australia can't win without him but it seems they have already found a pretty handy replacement in plucky Alex de Minaur.

Rookie teenager de Minaur threatened a boilover on debut before finally being overcome in five sets by world No.5 Alex Zverev, as Germany grabbed a 1-0 lead on Friday in their Davis Cup clash in Brisbane.

The pint-sized de Minaur - just 18 - appeared to channel team captain and former world No.1 Lleyton Hewitt with a never-say-die attitude until the German star's big serve proved the difference.

Zverev - ranked 134 places higher than the gutsy Australian - held on to win 7-5 4-6 4-6 6-3 7-6 (7-4) in an epic lasting almost four hours on Pat Rafter Arena.

In the lead-up to the first-round tie, Tomic claimed Australia couldn't win the Davis Cup without him during an ill-fated reality TV show stint.

However, the future appears bright judging by de Minaur.

"Australia's got a good one there," Zverev said of world No.139 de Minaur.

"He is playing unbelievable tennis for an 18-year-old."

De Minaur cut a shattered figure after the match but still justified Hewitt's surprise selection as Australia's No.2 singles player behind Nick Kyrgios.

De Minaur was the team's No.5-ranked singles player but was named to make his debut after a stellar summer run that included a Brisbane International semi-final berth and his first ATP tour final last month in Sydney.

"Right now, I could not be more devastated," Sydney-born, Spain-based de Minaur said.

"But I am truly proud. I left it all out there and was that close to getting that first rubber.

"It was the best four hours of my life. I enjoyed every second of it - I didn't want it to end.

"Things like this don't happen often so I just cherished every moment."

Zverev looked in trouble before he fired up after complaining to courtside officials about fan behaviour at 3-3 in the fourth set.

The German quickly silenced the lively parochial crowd, breaking de Minaur in the eighth game to claim the fourth set.

He finally ended de Minaur's resistance 7-4 in the fifth-set tiebreak.

"I like the support they are giving Australians, but there is a level when they have to be respectful to players," Zverev said of the fourth-set incident.

"I felt at one stage they weren't, so I just said that - afterwards, they were fine; there were no issues after that."