Darwin, NT, 18 July 2015 | AAP

Australia’s Davis Cup captain Wally Masur has urged his team to stay strong in the wake of their forgettable opening-day results against Kazakhstan in Darwin.

Australia are on the brink of elimination in their Davis Cup quarterfinal after Thanasi Kokkinakis and Nick Kyrgios lost their opening singles matches on Friday.

Kokkinakis suffered a 6-4 6-3 6-3 defeat to Mikhail Kukushkin, before an emotionally-drained Kyrgios fell 7-6(5) 6-7(2) 7-6(5) 6-4 to world No.115 Aleksandr Nedovyesov.

Australia’s pairing of Lleyton Hewitt and Sam Groth must win their doubles encounter against Andrey Gulubev and Nedovyesov on Saturday just to keep the tie alive.

Although Australia’s Davis Cup title hopes are now hanging by a thread, Masur said it wasn’t all doom and gloom.

“The mood is good. We’re still smiling,” Masur said.

“Losses have to be digested. They’re not that easy to get over, but that’s the nature of Davis Cup. It’s not over. We haven’t lost.

“Whilst Friday was disappointing, it’s all about what’s coming.”