Australia have shot to the top of Group C with a faultless 3-0 Davis Cup victory over Belgium.
Jason Kubler and Alex de Minaur gave the Aussies an unassailable 2-0 lead with wins in the singles before Matt Ebden and Max Purcell rounded off a perfect opening day in Hamburg with victory in the doubles against Sander Gille and Joran Vliegen.
Australia are in the same qualifying group as France and Germany, who face each other on Wednesday, but Lleyton Hewitt's team are in pole position to finish in the top two and land a place in the final eight in Malaga in late November.
Davis Cup debutant Kubler beat Zizou Bergs in three sets, while De Minaur saw off former world number seven David Goffin in straight sets.
Kubler, a late replacement for Thanasi Kokkinakis, who was unwell, won the first set 6-4 in Hamburg.
He suffered a wobble when 23-year-old Bergs — named Zizou in honour of soccer player Zinedine Zidane — romped through the second set 6-1.
But Kubler, cheered on by other members of the Australian team, regrouped and battled back to win the final set and take the match 6-4, 1-6, 6-3.
Kubler, 29, is a former world junior number one whose career has been blighted by knee injuries, but he has been in fine form this year, reaching the fourth round at Wimbledon, where he lost to Taylor Fritz.
"It feels great," he said of winning his first Davis Cup match.
"To finish my debut [with a win] after being a break down in the third, I'm very happy. It's a special way to start my Davis Cup career.
"We had a team meeting to decide who was going to play. Luckily, we have the options and we have confidence in all the five players.
"When I found out, it was one of the things to see that the team had a lot of belief in me. It made me feel special."
Hewitt said Kokkinakis "was a little under the weather" for a few days and would be assessed as to whether he can play France and/or Germany over the next four days.
Goffin, 31, is a Davis Cup veteran who had won 26 of his 30 previous singles matches.
But world number 22 De Minaur swept him aside 6-2, 6-2 in just 66 minutes on the hard courts of Am Rothenbaum.
De Minaur said Kubler's first-up win made life easier for him.
"I was able to play loose and make sure I was going to make it tough for him," he said
De Minaur said going straight into a team event had helped him forget about his third-round loss at the US Open.
"As soon as I landed here — on Tuesday — it was just get to work, prepare and all lies on that first tie," he said.
"It worked. I forgot it, concentrated on this match and played some great tennis. I'm very happy with that."
All points are crucial in the group stage so the 6-1, 6-3 victory for Ebden and Purcell could prove significant.
The knockout stage is scheduled for November 22-27 in Malaga, Spain.
AAP
