'He wanted revenge badly': Alex de Minaur produces 'demolition' straight-sets win over Alexander Bublik

Alex de Minaur has scored "revenge" over a man who defeated him twice in a row - but the toughest part of his Australian Open campaign is still to come.

The world No.6 produced a clinical straight-sets victory over Alexander Bublik on Sunday night in one of his best performances at a grand slam.

De Minaur was going game-for-game with Bublik in the first set but once he got a sniff of momentum, the Aussie ace never looked back in the 6-4, 6-1, 6-1 win.

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"Absolute demolition," Australian great Todd Woodbridge said on Nine.

The 26-year-old lost to Bublik at the French Open last year after leading two sets to one and that was apparently on his mind before the fourth-round clash.

His mentor, Lleyton Hewitt, conceded it was a factor for the Demon leading in.

"I think he wanted revenge badly," Hewitt said during the match.

"You know, I think that one really stung in the French Open, obviously two sets to love up and complete control of that match. He lost a tight match to him in Paris in the Masters there in late no sort of November last year as well.

"He wanted to try and turn the tables tonight."

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De Minaur admitted that revenge was on his mind when he drew Bublik at his home grand slam, but he was still wary of the threat the Kazakhstani player presented.

"I knew what I was in for today," he said post-match.

"Bublik is a hell of a player. He's got so much firepower. I lost to him the last couple times, so I made sure I wanted to be ready to go from the first point to the last.

"I was locked in. It was all about neutralising his big groundstrokes and doing my best to get him on the move. And it all kind of worked perfectly today, so super happy.

"I was definitely thinking about the last two matches I played him. Look, he's super dangerous, right? I just had to be locked in from the first point to the last huge mental effort and onto the quarter ... job done."

John McEnroe said it was "one of the best matches he's ever played here" as de Minaur celebrated and soaked in the adulation from the Rod Laver Arena crowd.

While the win over Bublik - a fellow top 10 player - was a massive boost for the Aussie's confidence, it will be a whole different ball game on Tuesday night.

Standing in his way now will be Carlos Alcaraz, the top-ranked player in men's tennis.

"I'm going to have to come out here guns blazing, and I'm excited for a battle against Carlitos," the Sydney product told Jim Courier on the court.

"I've hit enough tennis balls recently, so I'm not going to need to do too much.

"I'll have a nice easy session groove about 30 or 45 minutes and another 45 minutes in in the gym and ultimately just relax a little bit and enjoy my time here in Melbourne, and get ready for an absolute battle in a couple days time."

De Minaur has never defeated the Spaniard in their five meetings to date.

Alcaraz also advanced to the quarters in style, recording a straight-sets win over American star Tommy Paul on Sunday afternoon.