A scintillating Alex de Minaur has powered his way into the Australian Open fourth round with a straight sets demolition of Frances Tiafoe.
The Australian sixth seed systematically dismantled the two-time US Open semi-finalist 6-3 6-4 7-5 in two hours, 43 minutes at Rod Laver Arena on Friday night.
De Minaur will now meet the winner of 10th seed Alexander Bublik and Argentina's Tomas Martin Etcheverry in the last 16.
In a relatively even first set, De Minaur saved two break point in the seventh game before breaking Tiafoe in the following game and serving it out 6-3.
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He accelerated away from Tiafoe in the second set, breaking the American twice and surviving a break back before wrapping up the set 6-4.
De Minaur kept his foot on Tiafoe's throat immediately in the third set, breaking his opponent in the first game and looking comfortable at 4-2.
A medical emergency in the crowd was a contributing factor in the halting of De Minaur's momentum, with Tiafoe digging in to break back and get games back on serve.
Games remained on serve until 5-5 when an epic Tiafoe service game saw the American saved four break points before eventually succumbing.
De Minaur served out the match the following the game and will await the winner of either Bublik or Etcheverry to find out his fourth round opponent.
Bublik famously came back from two-sets-love-down to defeat De Minaur at French Open 2025, kickstarting a run of form that saw four ATP titles - rising to world no.10.