Australian Open: Alex de Minaur untroubled as he races into third round

Alex de Minaur has shifted up a gear to power into the Australian Open third round at Melbourne Park.

A man on a mission, de Minaur crushed Italian Matteo Arnaldi 6-3 6-0 6-3 in bang on two hours on Wednesday to storm into the last 32 of his home grand slam for a fifth straight time.

In a reflection of the world No.10’s heady new levels, de Minaur’s clinical victory over the 41st-ranked Arnaldi was his most one-sided yet in 21 Open matches since debuting in 2016.

The heavy defeat was also in stark contrast to his flat first-round win over Milos Raonic, when de Minaur advanced after the big-serving Canadian retired at one-set apiece with a hip flexor injury.

“Matteo, he’s a hell of a player. A very exciting player who’s got a lot of firepower,” de Minaur said.

“He has a very, very high level. I just had to be solid here, use the crowd, try to stay focused and I’m very happy to get the win today.”

The fiercely patriotic baseliner promised to exact revenge on Arnaldi after the 22-year-old sealed victory over Australia in last year’s Davis Cup final with his decisive win over Alexei Popyrin.

And the revenge was served cold, with de Minaur ruthlessly reeling off 10 successive games mid-match to blow the second-round encounter open.

“It’s no secret it was heartbreaking at the end of the year, losing to Italy in the Davis Cup final,” the Open’s 10th seed said.

“But I told the boys we’re going to be back there, we’re going to get another chance and today was a little bit of revenge for Australia and I’m happy to be in the next round.”

De Minaur next faces either Italian qualifier Flavio Cobolli or Russian world No.65 Pavel Kotov for a spot in the last 16.

“They’re both quality players,” de Minaur said.

“Cobolli, he’s a young Italian. He’s been rising as well with Matteo and Kotov, he’s coming off his best year on tour.

“So they’re both very dangerous players playing with a lot of confidence.

“But, again, I’ve got to focus on my side of the court, put my head down and hopefully do my thing.”

Still unbeaten this year after opening the season with head-turning wins over Novak Djokovic, Alexander Zverev, Taylor Fritz and an exhibition defeat of Carlos Alcaraz, de Minaur will be a hot favourite to continue his run.