The pressure to help Team Australia at the United Cup is not weighing down Alex de Minaur as he prepares to return to action on home soil.
De Minaur's last appearance at the United Cup set the tone for a magical run in 2024, having claimed heroic victories over Novak Djokovic and Alexander Zverev.
The 25-year-old was a vital player in the team's campaign to reach the semi finals last season, but the Australians collectively fell short to eventual winners Germany.
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Despite the defeat, de Minaur continued to climb up the ranks and reached a career high of world No.6, but his success on the global stage has yet to change his mentality.
With a home crowd ready to roar in Sydney, de Minaur insisted he doesn't feel pressure to exceed expectations in the team tournament.
"I've never associated playing in Australia as pressure," de Minaur said.
Alex de Minaur of Australia Getty
"I've always associated it as excitement and something that I'm looking forward to every single year because we don't get to do it as often as we would love to.
"Whenever we're back here, the season is starting, I know we're playing in front of our home crowd, and that's always exciting.
"It always bring the best tennis in me."
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De Minaur will look to the guidance of tennis great Lleyton Hewitt, captain of Australia, in bid to secure the nation's first team title since 2016 at the Hopman Cup.
Under Hewitt's leadership, Team Australia reached the semi finals at the Davis Cup in November but were unable to claim the upper hand on Team Italy.
With several gruelling defeats sitting in the back of the team's mind, Hewitt insisted the challenge posed by Great Britain and Argentina is one his team can succeed in.
Alex de Minaur of Team Australia and Katie Boulter of Team Great Britain. Getty
"We've come bloody close in a lot of them," Hewitt said of Australia's history in team tournaments.
"The biggest thing is that we keep knocking on the door.
"You've got to do all the right preparation and give yourself the best chance of going out there and putting your hand up to try and win these kind of events.
"I've been awfully proud of the teams I've captained these last nine or ten years now, right across the board.
"You look at some of these teams who end up winning these team competitions and they've got some pretty awesome players, some generational greats or even legends of the game.
"We will do all the preparation that we need and hopefully we can go out there and execute. We are certainly not taking anything for granted."
Olivia Gadecki of Australia. Getty
Olivia Gadecki will be the first of the Aussie women to take the courts.
Scheduled to face Nadia Podoroska, the 22-year-old admits she is confident she has what it takes to claim victory.
"I've played Nadia before at the Indian Wells at the start of the year," Gadecki said.
"It was a tight match. I was just travelling from Austin the week prior and I didn't really have great preparation. She is a great player and it takes quite a bit to beat her.
"I think I've got the game and ability so I'm really looking forward to it.
"I would definitely say I am a different player. I've had a great year and I'm really going to try and take that momentum into the next, we'll see what happens."
