In his first ever Davis Cup tie, de Minaur wobbled early to drop the first set but then upstaged the highly-touted German in the next two.
Two-time grand slam champion Hewitt also resisted the urge to play doubles despite practising this week with the team.
He opted for Matthew Ebden to partner specialist John Peers against Germany’s Peter Gojowczyk and Tim Puetz on Saturday before Sunday’s reverse singles rubbers.
De Minaur — an unheralded teenager languishing outside the top 200 just last month — was given the nod over Matthew Ebden (world No.74), Jordan Thompson (102) and John Millman (108) for the No.2 singles berth.
“The calibre of players he has beaten this year has been pretty impressive,” Hewitt said of de Minaur, whose scalps included former world No.3 Milos Raonic.
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