Alex De Minaur will begin his Australian Open preparations against two current top-20 players, after the hosts were drawn against Norway and the Czech Republic in the United Cup.

De Minaur was on Monday handed home-city advantage in Sydney for January's teams event, alongside Australia's rising teenage women's star Maya Joint.

Fellow seeds Canada and Germany also on Australia's side of the draw in Sydney, while defending-champions USA headline the contingent of teams headed to Perth.

Australia's grouping means world No.7 de Minaur is set to face Norway's Casper Ruud and Czech Jakub Mensik in the group stage.

Both players currently sit in the world's top 20, in a situation labelled as ideal by Australia's former Davis Cup captain Wally Masur.

"He is a player who thrives on matches and

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