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 Australia were 2-0 down after hot-headed tyro Nick Kyrgios and
19-year-old Thanasi Kokkinakis wilted on the grass-courts in
tropical Darwin on Friday.
But 34-year-old Hewitt and 68th-ranked Groth ensured the
quarter-final would head into a third day by grinding out a tense
6-4 7-6(4) 6-2 win over Andrey Golubev and Aleksandr Nedovyesov.
For Hewitt, who has announced he will quit tennis after the next
Australian Open in January, it was especially pleasing.
"It's up there," Hewitt said when asked what the win meant.
"I haven't played too many doubles matches at 2-0 down when the
pressure's on.
"Sam and I combined really well today. This is Grothy's first win in
a live rubber, so it's fantastic to be out here to enjoy it with
him."
The gutsy win from Davis Cup stalwart Hewitt and the much-improved
Groth cheered local fans after a tumultuous week dominated by the
controversial Bernard Tomic.
Tomic, who was kicked out of the team for an extraordinary outburst
against Australian tennis officials in Wimbledon, was charged with
trespassing and resisting arrest on Thursday following complaints
over a noisy penthouse party at his Miami Beach hotel.
Australia's Davis Cup captain Wally Masur said he might shake up his
selections for the reverse singles after Kyrgios and Kokkinakis's
struggles on Friday.
"Obviously form and confidence are important," Masur told local
media.
"I was really impressed with these two guys (Hewitt and Groth)
today.
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"They had great clarity; they knew exactly what they had to do with
our backs against the wall.
"It was a really good team effort, so I do have decisions to make
based on the results over the weekend, and hopefully we get it
right."
Masur added that he felt Kyrgios might be feeling the strain after
weeks of controversy following his performance at Wimbledon, where
he was accused of poor sportsmanship during matches and "tanking",
or giving up, during his fourth round exit.
"It takes its toll. I kind of feel sorry for Nick in a way because
it was almost a little bit of hysteria about some of the stuff that
went on at Wimbledon," Masur said.
"The press cycle just kind of went into overdrive."
The winning team takes a spot in a semi-final against either Britain
or France.
(Reporting by Ian Ransom; Editing by Amlan Chakraborty)
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