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Hewitt handed Luke Saville his debut while Australia number one
Alex de Minaur, world number 12 doubles player John Peers and
Alexei Popyrin will also join Kokkinakis for the match, which
will be played in Sydney on March 4-5.
"Alex has had most of his recent success in Sydney, winning the
Sydney international a few years back but also some of his best
results last month, including quality wins against (Matteo)
Berrettini and (Ugo) Humbert," Hewitt said.
"Thanasi had a fantastic Australian summer. He really cemented
himself as a top-100 player again, winning his first title at
home in Adelaide and beating quality players.
"And then to go on to win the Australian Open doubles, this is
going to give him a lot of confidence heading into this tie."
Kyrgios paired up with Kokkinakis to win the first Grand Slam
title of his career in a run to the Australian Open final that
saw the duo cricitised by opponents for inciting rowdy behaviour
from the Melbourne Park crowd.
Kokkinakis has been called up for the first time since 2015 and
will be making his fifth appearance in the Davis Cup.
"It's a pretty cool feeling putting on those colours and playing
for Australia," he said.
"That atmosphere is unmatched. It's a great reward for the
summer I've had, for me and my team, and all the hard work I've
put in."
(Reporting by Michael Church in Hong Kong, Editing by Jane
Wardell)
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