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Australia have hit their first speed bump at the United Cup after rising tennis star Olivia Gadecki suffered a 6-2 6-4 loss to Argentina's Nadia Podoroska.

Australia's top women's singles player Olivia Gadecki has endured a frustrating start at the United Cup, losing 6-2 6-4 to Argentina's Nadia Podoroska.

Gadecki struggled to find her feet against the more experienced Podoroska at Ken Rosewall Arena, meaning men's counterpart Alex de Minaur must defeat Tomas Etcheverry in his singles match to keep Australia alive in the tie on Saturday.

Emerging star Gadecki battled nerves and was broken in her opening game, before losing the first set.

Cheered on by a boisterous home crowd during the second, the 22-year-old looked ready to mount a comeback after launching ahead 4-3 but was undone by her errors in the 88-minute match.

The result is the exact same as when Gadecki last faced off against Podoroska at this year's Indian Wells Open.

"It's my first match of the year so it's always tough to start the season," Podoroska said.

"I think I played very consistently the whole match.

"Even when I missed some serves, I kept doing my game so it's very important to do that.

"It's going to be a tough match (for Etcheverry). Alex is a very great player. He always plays his best tennis here in Australia."

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.

Meanwhile, de Minaur returns to the Sydney hard court eager to again use the tournament as a springboard for his tilt at Melbourne Park.

The world No.9 dazzled the tennis world in January with his inspired wins over giants like Novak Djokovic and Alexander Zverev.