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Alex de Minaur suffered an upset loss to Raphael Collignon on day one of the tie, going down 5-7 6-3 3-6, and Jordan Thompson couldn't level the score in his rubber, losing 6-7 (4-7) 4-6 to Belgium No.1 Zizou Bergs.

The second day of Australia’s qualifier second round will see debutante Rinky Hijikata team with John Peers to face Sander Gille and Joran Vliegen in the doubles, and only a victory will do.

“You’ve got to stay positive, obviously. There’s still a bloody long way to go,” Australia captain Lleyton Hewitt said.

“We’ve just got to keep our chin up, look forward to tomorrow and really just take it one match at a time.

“We’ve just got to prepare as well as possible, [hope] the boys recover as well as they can and leave it all out there tomorrow and hopefully give ourselves a chance to get to the fourth and fifth matches.

“We back ourselves in any position. We’ve had some tough moments, we’ve come back from some tough moments, and anything can happen tomorrow.

“The tie could just as easily turn if we get some momentum. It’s all about asking the question and see how they handle it.”

Thompson is also maintaining hope that Australia will swiftly rebound and reach a fourth-straight Davis Cup final eight.

“We’re not out of this. There’s still hopefully three more matches to play, and it starts with the doubles tomorrow,” Thompson said.

“We’re just going to put today behind us, tomorrow’s a new day, and we’re going to start fresh and we’re going out ready for a comeback. Everyone loves one.”