The seeds lie in wait for fresh and finely-tuned Alex de Minaur, who strode through his second round match at the Australian Open on Thursday, defeating American qualifier Tristan Boyer 6-2, 6-4, 6-3 in just under two hours on Rod Laver Arena.

Australia’s main hope of breaking a 49-year drought in the men’s singles at Melbourne Park now meets 31st seed Francisco Cerundolo. A possible quarter-final match up looms against world No 1 Jannik Sinner, who plays local wildcard Tristan Schoolkate on Thursday night.

De Minaur was largely untroubled by his opponent on a sunny but cool Melbourne afternoon. The No 8 seed overcame an early break of serve to accelerate away from Boyer, hitting 23 winners and producing just 15 unforced errors.

He said the goal is simply to get through the early rounds as quickly as possible. “If you can do your best to conserve energy and not play long matches, that’s going to be very nice to you and your body as the tournament goes along,” he said.

Although he wasn’t broken again after that early blip, the Australian’s serve has room for improvement, after he landed barely more than half his first serves. He has increased his average serve speed by approximately 15kph in the past three years, and said winning points more easily has been a key focus in recent years. “In the third set, I lost a little bit of rhythm, a little bit of energy intensity, and it affected my serving numbers a little bit,” he said.

“But ultimately, it’s [about] getting more free points, right? It’s hitting your spot or setting up the next shot. And too often in the past I didn’t have enough power where I was really playing that next shot on my terms.”

The Australian said Boyer was a newcomer to the tour and was a “dangerous player” but he tried to focus on himself. “Ultimately it was about me bringing the best version of myself, that’s what I needed to do and I’m happy with that.”

De Minaur has now won his first two matches without dropping a set, and a hip injury that plagued him last year looks behind him. Ahead stands Cerundolo, who progressed against countryman Facundo Diaz Acosta, who retired injured.

The pair have never played, but the Australian knows his potential. “Be ready for a battle,” De Minaur told the Rod Laver Arena crowd of the match up likely to be played on Saturday. “It’s going to be tough, he’s a quality opponent, lots of firepower, and a great forehand. He’s taken some big scalps and hopefully I’m not the next one.”

Boyer’s defeat ended a successful run in Australia. The 23-year-old won through qualifying, then upset Federico Coria in a first round five-setter to record his best performance at a grand slam.

The world No 136 has done it despite distractions. His hometown of Altadena in California has been heavily affected by recent wildfires. Friends and family are homeless and his father was forced to evacuate.

De Minaur said he hopes the dangers would soon pass and expressed sympathy for those affected. “It’s something you hate to see, you never want to see, and I’m sending lots of love all the way there,” he said.

Thursday afternoon saw the departure of another Australian in James McCabe from the men’s draw. The wildcard’s run was ended in the second round by American 20-year-old Alex Michelsen, who won 7-5, 6-3, 7-6 (4) on court three.

McCabe was broken just twice across 132 minutes, but couldn’t get a hold of his towering opponent’s serve, and was unable to bring up a single break point chance.

Michelson meets 19th seed Karen Khachanov in the third roundwith the winner of that match to face either De Minaur or Cerundolo.