De Minaur beats Kasnikowski 6-3, 6-0 to give Australia 1-0 Davis Cup lead

Alex de Minaur beat Maks Kasnikowski 6-3, 6-0 at Pat Rafter Arena on Saturday to give Australia a 1-0 lead in their Davis Cup World Group I tie with Poland. The match lasted 56 minutes and de Minaur lost just six points in the second set.

The world No 9 arrived in Brisbane seeking to rediscover form after a disappointing second-round US Open exit and faced world No 231 Kasnikowski in front of a packed home crowd. The Australian No 1 found range on his serve, worked angles from the baseline and came to the net to finish points.

De Minaur broke for the first time in the fourth game and roared in reaction; a tight call went against him at 4-1 but he settled immediately with back-to-back aces. Kasnikowski saved two set points on serve and forced de Minaur to serve out the opening set, which he did with ease before breaking instantly to set the tone for a one-sided second set.

"That’s what these ties are all about; get fired up, get the crowd involved and there’s no better feeling," de Minaur said. "We play outside of Australia for 10 months a year ... so being here, in front of a packed crowd, great atmosphere it’s one I’ve missed."

"The serve felt great ... I had some nice words to it and it’s coming out to play," he added.

"It was a unique experience. A really, really tough challenge and happy I put up a little bit of a fight in the first set," Kasnikowski said. "In the second, Alex increased the level a lot and it was too much for me today. "He started playing way faster and was making no mistakes."

Brisbane favourite James Duckworth plays Kamil Majchrzak in Saturday’s second match, before Sunday’s doubles and reverse singles.

Australia were upset in Ecuador earlier this year and must win this clash to progress to next year’s qualifying round. They can then book a place in the eight-team finals in Italy in November.