World No. 9 de Minaur put on a devastating display in his first hit-out of the season at Ken Rosewall Arena, showing no signs of pressure on his way to victory in 75 minutes.
His win squared the tie after Nadia Podoroska beat Olivia Gadecki 6-2 6-4 in Saturday's women's singles.
Olympic doubles gold medallist Matthew Ebden and Ellen Perez must finish off the job when they take on Etcheverry and Podoroska in the mixed doubles.
All smiles from Lleyton Hewitt 😃🇦🇺— United Cup (@UnitedCupTennis) @alexdeminaur is going deep into his bag of tricks at the #UnitedCup pic.twitter.com/fEFnGdJArlDecember 28, 2024
Sydney local de Minaur rampaged to claim the first set within 28 minutes and sent the near-capacity crowd rocking with every point earned.
Etcheverry took four hard-earned games in the second after finding his rhythm, but de Minaur prevailed with great precision.
"Thank God I executed today and got the win for Australia," de Minaur said.
"Just being back here in Sydney, I love it here.
"I just told myself to back myself and play the type of tennis I wanted to play."
Olivia Gadecki getting the Aussie crowd on their feet 🇦🇺— United Cup (@UnitedCupTennis) #UnitedCup pic.twitter.com/7y4yg9Fwc9December 28, 2024
In the women's singles match, emerging star Gadecki battled nerves and was broken in her opening game, before losing the first set.
Cheered on by a boisterous home crowd in the second, the 22-year-old looked ready to mount a comeback after launching ahead 4-3 but was ultimately undone by her errors in the 88-minute contest.
The scoreline was the same as when Gadecki last faced off against Podoroska at this year's Indian Wells Open.
Gadecki is the nation's only woman to gain direct entry to the Australian Open, having reached the world's top 100 with a career-best run to the Guadalajara Open final in September.
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