Kaohsiung, 31 January 2013 | AAP

Matthew Ebden has been selected to play in the opening singles along with Lleyton Hewitt in Australia’s Davis Cup tie against Chinese Taipei starting on Friday.

Cup captain Pat Rafter said Ebden had been chosen ahead of the higher ranked Marinko Matosevic because of his practice form and confidence.

Hewitt will attempt to get Australia off to a winning start when he plays the opening singles rubber against Tsung-Hua Yang.

Ebden will then tackle Ti Chen in the second singles on Friday.

Hewitt will partner Chris Guccione in the doubles on Saturday as the duo attempts to keep its unbeaten 7-0 winning Davis Cup streak alive.

Rafter has left his options open for Sunday’s reverse singles.

Ebden and Jarmila Gajdosova last weekend won the Australian Open mixed doubles title and Rafter said the 25-year-old’s confidence had continued in training for the tie in Kaohsiung City.

Matosevic has endured a difficult summer, including another first-round loss at the Australian Open.

But Rafter said Matosevic’s attitude had improved dramatically after he was dropped from a crucial Cup tie last year for disciplinary reasons.