Australia will feature in the United Cup quarterfinals for the first time since 2024 after defeating Czechia 2-1 in their final Group D tie at Ken Rosewall Arena on Tuesday night.
Two clutch performances from Alex de Minaur propelled Australia into the final eight, booking a likely meeting with Poland.
After an uncharacteristic showing in his opening United Cup singles match on Saturday against Norwegian Casper Ruud, De Minaur returned to his electrifying best against world No.18 Jakub Mensik.
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The Australian No.1 was more efficient on serve in his 6-4 6-1 victory over Mensik, recording four aces and zero double faults, compared to two aces and eight double faults on Saturday.
“Obviously, I didn’t start the year the way I wanted to,” De Minaur reflected on his 6-3 6-3 loss to Ruud, his first match of 2026.
“I tried to not take that match too much into account. I thought Casper played really well, but something that I’ve done really well in my career is bouncing back. So, I’m very happy with the way I bounced back today.”
De Minaur maintains his undefeated record against Mensik, claiming his fifth straight win against the 19-year-old, while also notching his fifth victory against a top-20 opponent at the United Cup.
The world No.7, who increases his chances of being ranked a career-high world No.5 next week with Tuesday’s win, controlled the 91-minute encounter.
After saving three break points at 5-3 in the first set, De Minaur won seven of the next nine games to level the tie at one-all after Maya Joint had fallen in the women's singles match to Czech champion Barbora Krejcikova.
“I definitely think I served better today. The first day, I chucked in eight double faults which is very unlike me, so today I played really well. I was able to counterpunch quite well, return his serve and then tried to be aggressive,” he said.
“Ultimately, if I give him too many chances, he’s way too good. He’s got too much firepower, so I had to play on my terms, and of course, there’s nothing better than being back here in Sydney.”
De Minaur then backed up his efforts against Mensik in the deciding mixed doubles rubber, teaming with Storm Hunter to prevail over Miriam Skoch and Dalibor Svrcina 6-2 6-3 and claim the tie.
Earlier, Joint was overpowered during her United Cup debut against two-time Grand Slam champion Krejcikova. Krejcikova hit 14 winners to five in in the 6-4 6-1 win.
Following an agonising finish to their 2025 United Cup campaign where they missed the quarterfinals on game difference, Team Australia reaches the final eight for the second time and will be aiming to build on their semifinal run in 2024.
Tickets are available for Australia’s quarterfinals clash at Ken Rosewall Arena on Ticketmaster, with prices starting at $30. You can also watch the tie on the channels of the Nine Network from 5:30pm AEDT.