Alex de Minaur will chase his first win of the 2026 season when he faces Team Czechia’s Jakub Mensik on Tuesday night at the United Cup in Sydney.
Australia’s No.1-ranked player lost to Team Norway’s Casper Ruud 6-3 6-3 in the opening men’s singles match of the Group D clash, in a contest hinting the former world No.2 was back to a level far greater than his current No.12 ranking suggests.
Storm Hunter, replacing Maya Joint, squared the tie with a 6-2 7-6(3) win over Malene Helgo, before rallying past Viktor Durasovic and Ulrikke Eikeri 4-6 6-1 [10-4] to secure victory alongside John-Patrick Smith for the home country.
De Minaur holds a perfect 4-0 record against world No.19 Mensik, who is coming off a breakout season highlighted by a Miami Masters 1000 title, where he beat Novak Djokovic in the final.
Outside of Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner, De Minaur was the only top-10 player to hold a winning record against Mensik in 2025.
However, the 20-year-old showed signs of an increased level in his season opener. In a repeat of his second-round Australian Open 2025 upset over Casper Ruud, Mensik combined his trademark power and depth with a remarkable soft touch en route to a 7-5 7-6(6) victory over the Norwegian.
Joint’s availability for Australia’s clash with Team Czechia remains uncertain as she continues to recover from illness, though team captain Lleyton Hewitt expressed confidence the world No.32 would be ready to compete at a high level if selected.
“I don’t think myself or her team are too worried about how she’s hitting the ball and moving and playing at the moment,” Hewitt said.
Should Joint take the court, it will mark her first meeting with Barbora Krejcikova, who sat inside the world’s top 10 just a year ago.
If Hunter is selected instead, it would be a rematch of their gripping third-round encounter at Australian Open 2024, where the Czech edged the Australian 4-6 7-5 6-3.
Krejcikova, a two-time Grand Slam champion yet ranked No.63 after injury battles, completed a resounding 6-4 6-3 over Helgo in her opening singles match in Sydney.
The women’s singles will open the tie on Ken Rosewall Arena, starting no earlier than 5:30pm AEDT. De Minaur’s men’s singles match against Mensik follows at 7pm, with the mixed doubles to close out the night.
Tickets are available for Australia’s final United Cup group stage tie against Czechia on Tuesday, 6 January at Ken Rosewall Arena on Ticketmaster, with prices starting at $40. You can also watch the tie on the channels of the Nine Network from 5:30 pm AEDT.