John Newcombe says Davis Cup coach Jason Stoltenberg and advisor Tony Roche asked captain Lleyton Hewitt to play doubles for the country because they still regard him as the nation's best option.

After three days of controversy sparked by Bernard Tomic’s brutal assessment that he had “ruined the system” Hewitt’s doubles campaign at the Australian Open ended in round one as he and John-Patrick Smith lost 3-6, 6-1, 6-4 to Wesley Koolhof and Marcus Daniell.

'The best doubles player we've got': Lleyton Hewitt. Credit:AAP

They departed as the damaging saga continued to gather pace with a provocative Nick Kyrgios post on social media on Wednesday night pointing out that Hewitt was watching Alex de Minaur’s second-round match and not those of Matthew Ebden and John Millman, which were playing out on other courts.

Australian No.3 Ebden, who fell to Rafael Nadal in the second round at Melbourne Park, also revealed concerns about communication in the Davis Cup set-up, saying he had not been contacted in four months.