Kyrgios,Australia’s top-ranked player,will take on Nadal in one of the two men’s singles matches after having been the beneficiary of a walkover from the all-time men’s grand slam record holder in the Wimbledon semi-finals.

All England Club and US Open quarter-finalist Ajla Tomljanović will be one offour women’s representatives for Australia,including playing captain Sam Stosur,with two to be chosen for the singles rubbers. Each tie will also include a mixed doubles rubber.

“It’s going to be a great battle for us,” de Minaur said. “We’ve got a tough group. It’s in Australia,but we cherish being the underdogs. It will give us a good chance to test ourselves and see how we’re going and see if our level is holding up.

“I think it’s going to be very interesting and intriguing to see how this all plays out. Obviously,this is a new event. We’re not sure really what to expect and the whole team dynamic.

“One thing is for sure,Australia is always a tight-knit group. We had an incredible year when it comes to team events with the finals of the Billie Jean King Cup and Davis Cup. We’re both in strong form. We’ll see how it goes. Hopefully,if we do well we’ll push for many,many more events like this.”

The United Cup will bookend a memorable year for Australian tennis in which the now-retired Ash Barty broke the country’s drought at the Australian Open with her first women’s singles title at Melbourne Park,and Australia’s teams exceeded expectations in the Billie Jean King Cup and Davis Cup.

De Minaur hopes he can add his name to the list of Australians going deep into the second week of a slam having reached the round of 16 at both the Australian Open and Wimbledon this year.

“That’s where I want to be,” de Minaur said. “To be honest,I’m not that type of person who is content with making third rounds or fourth rounds. I want to be pushing the end of these tournaments. That’s always going to be the goal.

“I do think I’m very close and I do feel like a lot of it is self belief. I’ve put myself in a couple of positions this year at Aussie making the fourth round and then at Wimby,basically having match points to make the quarters.

“I reckon I’m there and hopefully,I can put some great tennis together come AO week and really push the deep end of that tournament because that’s where I feel like I belong.”

Taylor Fritz will headline the United States team against Alexander Zverev’s Germany and Petra Kvitova’s Czech Republic in the other Sydney group of the United Cup.

Poland’s world No.1 Iga Swiatek will take centre stage in pool play in Brisbane,while Greece’s Stefanos Tsitsipas and Maria Sakkari will be expected to help their country qualify from their Perth group.

The United Cup will offer both ATP and WTA rankings points in the lead-up to the Australian Open.

Watch Australia in the United Cup from December 29 live and free on Channel 9 and 9Now. More infohere.