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“He’s been able to obviously build a little more strength as well, so he’s got a bit more firepower, but we know how well he moves around the court … All signs are leading in the right way.”
De Minaur impressed in ties against big guns Djokovic and Taylor Fritz during last year’s United Cup, with the strong showing providing a springboard for the Australian No.1 to enjoy the best season of his career to date.
“I’m very excited to play [this year], it’s going to be a lot of fun,” de Minaur said. “I had some good memories this year, that’s where I cracked the Top 10 for the very first time. Any chance you get to represent Australia is always a lot of fun.”
Australian captain Hewitt joked that de Minaur would be filthy at facing a British team set to include both Draper and girlfriend Boulter.
“You’re in trouble, you’re in so much trouble,” Hewitt grinned to Casey Dellacqua after she drew Great Britain into Group F.
“We had to play against Katie last year, and I think that was the one and only time I was prepared to do it,” Hewitt said. “Looking ahead, I’ve just got to focus obviously on Katie and Jack, do my research on Katie, so we’ll see what happens. I’ll try and come up with a bit of a game plan,” Hewitt said.
De Minaur will be joined in the Australian side by Omar Jasika, Olivia Gadecki and Destanee Aiava, plus Olympic doubles gold medallists Matt Ebden and Ellen Perez.
The tournament will kick off in Perth from December 27. The top six countries will later battle it out in the semis and final, hosted in Sydney on the 4th and 5th of January.
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