It's hard to argue that this year's quarter-final win over the United States was Australia's greatest Davis Cup moment since winning the trophy outright in 2003. Now Lleyton Hewitt's team has the chance to out-strip that achievement by edging past Belgium in the semi-finals this weekend. 

A home final against either France or Serbia in November would be the reward. Winning through to the decider would also represent something of a return to familiar ground for a gloriously successful Davis Cup nation – a country that featured in four out of the five finals around the turn of the century but has had slim pickings since.

Since Lleyton Hewitt took over as captain in 2016 there's been a sense of optimism around the Australian team, despite the ongoing selection and availability controversy surrounding Bernard Tomic.

The semi-final match-up and potential opponents in the final mean this this is arguably Australia's best chance to win the trophy for the first time since Hewitt teamed with Mark Philippoussis, Todd Woodbridge and Wayne Arthurs to topple Spain in Melbourne 14 years ago.

For this tie on an indoor clay court in Brussels the visitors go in without Tomic, but have access to a fully-committed Nick Kyrgios and a fit Thanasi Kokkinakis, who is back on thecircuit after a long lay-off with crippling injuries.

However, Hewitt suprised many by axing Kokkinakis from Australia's squad less than an hour before the draw was made in Brussels, opting for John Millman instead.

Hewitt has been vital to Australia winning three of their four ties, including the memorable 3-2 quarter-final win over the US in Brisbane in April, a victory highlighted by Jordan Thompson's singles win over Jack Sock and confirmed by Kyrgios' reverse singles win over Sam Querrey.

Hewitt, 36, Australia's most prolific and successful Davis Cup player boasting a 58-21 record (including a 42-14 singles record), said the triumph over the US was one of the best moments of his career.

"America have been our arch-rivals for many years," he said. "We're both grand slam nations, have won it most times between us and that was the biggest tie we've won since the final in 2003.

"It was something I was pretty proud of seeing those boys going out there and doing that."

A semi-final tie against Belgium might appear to be one for the taking for Australia but, like the country's soccer team – which boasted the No.1 ranking as recently as March last year – the European nation must not be underestimated.

Belgium have never won the Davis Cup with their loss to Britain in the 2015 final the closest they have come to lifting the famous old trophy.

They are led by David Goffin, ranked 12th in the world but a player has been banging on the door of the world's top 10 for more than a year. The others in the squad are Steve Darcis (ranked No.77), Ruben Bemelmans (92) and Arthur de Greef (127).

Then there's the element of revenge for Australia. The head-to-head record between the nations is 2-2, including a world group play-off loss in Cairns in 2010 and a first-round loss in Belgium three years earlier.

While the special Ks - Kyrgios and Kokkinakis - are not being reunited for this tie, Hewitt is putting his trust in Kyrgios, Millman, Thompson and doubles specialist John Peers.

The clash between the mercurial Kyrgios and Belgian No.1 Goffin, who has won 13 of his last 14 Davis Cup singles rubbers, will go a long way to determining the tie.