Australia’s Alex de Minaur says the potential to win a team title on home soil makes the upcoming United Cup an “amazing” proposition.
De Minaur was part of the Australian team that went down to Canada in the final of the Davis Cup in Spain in November, a final that was played on neutral soil under that tournament’s new format.
The inaugural United Cup will kick off on December 29, featuring the world’s best male and female players in a best-of-five match tie.
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Asked by Wide World of Sports if the chance to win a team title on home soil made the United Cup even more special, the 23-year-old was excited by the prospect, labelling the home summer “by far the best time of the year.”
“Of course, that would be amazing. We were in Malaga not too long ago, playing for a Davis Cup title, in a neutral venue,” he said.
“Back in the day, you would have packed stadiums full of people cheering either for or against you, which always made it very special.
“Now we get the chance to represent our country in Australia, at home, it’s going to be great.
“It would obviously mean a lot if we could do some damage, take home the title in front of home crowd.”
Australia has drawn Spain and Great Britain in Group D, leading to the mouth-watering prospect of a clash between Nick Kyrgios and Rafael Nadal at Sydney’s Ken Rosewall Arena.
It’s been a extraordinary 2022 for Australian tennis, with Ash Barty winning the Australian Open, Kyrgios appearing in a Wimbledon final, and Ajla Tomljanovic and de Minaur both making strong runs at grand slams.
Along with the Davis Cup, Australia also finished runner-up in the Billie Jean King Cup.
“It just shows what we’ve been able to accomplish in Australian tennis,” de Minaur said, referring to the Davis Cup and Billie Jean King Cup.
“I think a lot of people should realise how meaningful those two results are, they’re very long years.
“Us Aussies, we tend to spend a lot more time than anybody else away from home.
“For us to show how tough we are, how much it means to play for Australia, and how much pride we have in representing the green and gold, it just shows we might not have people in the top-20, but we’re still out there making finals.”
De Minaur has been preparing at his Spanish base, although his off-season was relatively short given he played the Davis Cup final in late November. He’ll travel to Australia just before Christmas ahead of the United Cup.
“For me, there’s no greater honour than to represent your country and that’s been my belief always,” de Minaur said.
“It’s another chance, another opportunity to do everything I can to hopefully get a win for Australia.
“So I’ll make sure that I’m ready to go and ready to give it my all.”
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