Alex de Minaur was encouraged by his powers of recovery as he beat Jakub Mensik and then backed up that success in the mixed doubles to help Australia reach the United Cup quarter-finals.

De Minaur, who lost his opening match at the competition to Norway's Casper Ruud on Saturday but was bailed out by his team-mates as Australia won the tie 2-1, gave a much-improved display on Tuesday.

He cruised to a 6-4 6-1 success against Czechia's Mensik before partnering Storm Hunter for a 6-2 6-3 mixed doubles victory over Dalibor Svrcina and Miriam Skoch.

That latter victory, which came after Barbora Krejcikova beat Maya Joint in straight sets, saw Australia top Group D, though Czechia will also advance as the best runners-up.

Czechia will face Belgium, who swept Canada 3-0 with Zizou Bergs earning an eye-catching success over Felix Auger Aliassime, in the quarter-finals.

Australia, meanwhile, will discover their last-eight opponents when Group F, which includes Poland, Germany and the Netherlands, concludes on Wednesday.

De Minaur was pleased to recover from his losing start when speaking after Australia advanced, saying: "I didn't start the year the way I wanted to.

"But something I've done really well in my career is bouncing back, so I’m happy I bounced back today."

AUSSIE AUSSIE AUSSIE 

Demon and Hunter bring the  to secure a spot in the quarters for Team Australia  pic.twitter.com/QTWQP55I1R

— United Cup (@UnitedCupTennis) January 6, 2026

Elsewhere, Italy were eliminated despite beating France 2-1 in Group C, thanks to Jasmine Paolini's 6-2 6-3 victory over Leolia Jeanjean and a mixed doubles success for Sara Errani and Andrea Vavassori. But at 1-1 and with a 3-3 match record, they can no longer advance as one of the best runners-up.

Switzerland were already confirmed as being through from that pool, thanks to their 2-0 record, and they will take on Argentina for a semi-final spot.

Data Debrief: De Minaur maintains hoodoo over Mensik

De Minaur had to stand firm against Mensik, saving four break points en route to his singles victory.

The Australian now holds a 5-0 head-to-head record over Mensik, and he has not dropped a set in the last four meetings between the players since a 2024 victory in Vienna (one retirement in that time).