De Minaur gives Australia Davis Cup lead

Alex de Minaur has given Australia the early initiative in its Davis Cup qualifying tie against Hungary with a straight-sets victory over Zsombor Piros.

Playing on his beloved home court at Ken Rosewall Arena, the proud Sydneysider defeated Piros 7-5 6-2 in Friday night's opening singles rubber.

But it wasn't exactly one-way traffic.

Despite his lowly ranking of No.240 in the world, Piros beat John Millman in Australia's hard-fought 2-1 victory over Hungary in the 2021 Davis Cup Finals in November.

And he pushed de Minaur too, the Australian No.1 under pressure throughout the first set before taking it with the only service break in the 12th game.

The second set was more straightforward, de Minaur breaking Piros again in the fourth game, consolidating for a 4-1 lead and sealing the match after one hour and 23 minutes.

Thanasi Kokkinakis plays Hungarian spearhead and world No.35 Marton Fucsovics in the second match hoping to give Australia a 2-0 buffer entering Saturday's doubles and two reverse singles rubbers.

Back in the top 100 for the first time in six years following a resurgent summer in which he won his maiden ATP Tour title and the Australian Open doubles with Nick Kyrgios, Kokkinakis hasn't played Davis Cup since 2015.

But if he can conjure a win over Fucsovics, Australia will be well on the way to clinching a berth in the 2022 finals in September.