Alex de Minaur has shifted up a gear to motor into the Australian Open second week and set up a potential fourth-round blockbuster with nine-times champion Novak Djokovic.

De Minaur dominated Benjamin Bonzi from the get-go and raced to a 7-6 (7-0) 6-2 6-1 victory after breaking the Frenchman’s resistance in a first-set tiebreaker.

Dazzling the Rod Laver Arena crowd with his speed and energy, Australia’s 22nd seed broke Bonzi seven times throughout the two-hour, eight-minute mismatch to set the stage for a likely Monday night showdown with Djokovic.

The Serbian superstar will play Grigor Dimitrov later on Saturday night and is a hot favourite to claim a 37th consecutive win in Australia since his last defeat against Hyeon Chung in the third round of the 2018 Open.

After easing to a four-set second-round win over Adrian Mannarino, de Minaur looked a man on a mission on Saturday.

He hammered 33 winners, fashioned a total of 22 break points and closed out his final service game to love with his seventh and eighth aces in a clinical display.

“I’m very happy, I can’t lie,” de Minaur told the centre-court crowd.

“Look, honestly, as a kid this is what you train for, to be playing on this court in front of you guys on one of the biggest stages of the world. Every time I get out here I have to pinch myself.”

-AAP