Davis Cup captain Wally Masur says Australia will have to be on the ball if they are to beat Kazakhstan in their quarter-final showdown in Darwin, starting Friday.

Australia are bidding to reach the semi-finals of the tennis tournament for the first time since 2006 and boast a strong team, despite the absence of world No.25 Bernard Tomic.

Rising star Nick Kyrgios will lead the charge after Tomic was axed for the tie by Tennis Australia, and will be joined by fellow young gun Thanasi Kokkinakis in the singles.

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Kyrgios suffered an injury scare at training on Wednesday when he hurt his right thigh but has been cleared to play.

Veteran Lleyton Hewitt and the in-form Sam Groth are also part of the Australia team and will play in Saturday’s doubles, before the reverse singles one day later.

Kazakhstan’s team features only one player inside the top-100 (world No.63 Mikhail Kukushkin), with Aleksandr Nedovyesov (115th), and Andrey Golubev (155th) the other main members.

Despite this, Kazakhstan have reached the Davis Cup quarter-finals in four of the past five years, and they are desperate to go at least one step further this year.

“That is extraordinary,” Masur said of the visitors’ record.

“It just points to the focus they have, and intensity and passion.

“It’s about being a team, and they’re a good team; they’re together.

“You can see the camaraderie.

“I’ve been parts of teams with that sort of emotion and good will – everyone lifts. And that’s what they do.”

The draw for the tie will be announced on Thursday.