Local hope Alex de Minaur has booked a spot in the Australian Open fourth round following a straight-sets defeat of unseeded Frenchman Benjamin Bonzi.

In front of a partisan crowd on Rod Laver Arena, de Minaur advanced to the last 16 for the second consecutive year via a 7-6 (7/0), 6-2, 6-1 win in two hours and eight minutes.

While Bonzi proved no match for de Minaur on Saturday afternoon, the Australian now faces the daunting task of playing either nine-time champion Novak Djokovic or former world number three Grigor Dimitrov in the fourth round.

De Minaur could be joined in the next stage by fellow Australian Alexei Popyrin, who plays American Ben Shelton in Saturday’s evening session.

More to come.