Australian legends Lleyton Hewitt and Casey Dellacqua have reacted to the 2025 United Cup draw from a green and gold perspective.
The pair were present at the draw ceremony in Sydney as six groups of three nations were finalised, with Australia to play Great Britain and another country still to be determined.
Alex de Minaur, Olivia Gadecki, Omar Jasika, Destanee Aiava, Matt Ebden and Ellen Perez will represent the Aussies.
Hewitt, captain of Team Australia, previewed the tie against the Brits as Jack Draper will face de Minaur for the first time since last month's US Open quarter-finals.
"Jack’s a really tough player. He’s on the rise [and] he’s got better and better the last three years now," Hewitt said. "He has a lot of firepower; it’s going to be a tough match.
"He and Alex have had some battles in the past. Alex wasn’t at his best at the US Open physically by quarterfinals time, [but] he’s had his number in the past where Alex has won quite a few times.
"It’s going to be a good challenge for Alex first up for sure, and then Katie at a career-high ranking at the moment as well
"For Olivia, it’s a great opportunity to play on Ken Rosewall Arena and get exposure against these top-line players."
It was a somewhat breakout 2024 for de Minaur having achieved a maiden top-10 berth, a career-high ranking of No.6 and three quarter-final appearances at Grand Slam level.
Despite a lingering hip issue denying the 25-year-old of his best tennis, Hewitt is confident that he has the weapons to come back stronger.
"He’s able to still keep his unbelievable strengths, but he’s able to add in different dimensions to actually winning these matches," said the former world No.1. "He’s such a hard worker out there. He won’t sit back and rest on his laurels at all.
"He’ll go out there and try and find those one and two per cents that he can make himself a better player. He’s been able to build a little bit more strength, a bit more firepower, and we know how well he moves around the court. He’s probably using his transition game to the net a little bit more at the right times and he’s confident in doing that. All signs are leading in the right way."
Also experiencing a breakout year is 22-year-old Gadecki, who last month became the top-ranked Aussie female in singles for a brief spell after reaching her first-ever WTA final in Guadalajara.
Dellacqua, a former No.3 in doubles, believes the United Cup is a chance for the world No.83 to produce her best tennis.
"She likes to stand up on the baseline, she’s a really strong hitter of the ball," Dellacqua said of the world No.83. "She’s got a massive serve as well, so she’s always looking for that serve and that plus-one, that next shot, to really be super aggressive with, so I think we’re going to see some big-hitting tennis.
"She’s started to find her feet in regards to when to go big and when to just work the point and I think that just comes from years on tour. I think we’re going to see some really explosive tennis from Olivia."
Australia will play in two night-session ties at Sydney's Ken Rosewall Arena, with the first scheduled on December 28 at 5:30pm against an unknown opponent.
The new year kicks off with a mouthwatering clash against Great Britain on January 1.
The winner of Group F containing Australia will face the winner of Group D featuring Italy, France and Switzerland set for January 3.
Australia can still progress to the knockouts as the best-performed runner-up out of the three groups playing in Sydney.
The tournament will run from December 27 to January 5 in Sydney and Perth.
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