Alex de Minaur reckons he can find another level even after shifting up a gear to power into the Australian Open third round at Melbourne Park.
A man on a mission, de Minaur motored past Italian Matteo Arnaldi 6-3 6-0 6-3 in bang-on two hours on Wednesday to reach the last 32 of his home grand slam for a fifth straight time.
In a reflection of the world No.10's heady new heights, the speed demon's clinical victory over the 41st-ranked and highly rated Arnaldi was his most one-sided yet in 21 Open matches since debuting in 2016.
The heavy defeat was also in stark contrast to his flat first-round win over Milos Raonic, when de Minaur advanced after the big-serving Canadian retired at one set apiece with a hip flexor injury.
"Matteo, he's a hell of a player, a very exciting player who's got a lot of firepower," de Minaur said.
"He has a very, very high level. I just had to be solid here, use the crowd, try to stay focused, and I'm very happy to get the win today."
The fiercely patriotic baseliner promised to exact revenge on Arnaldi after the 22-year-old sealed victory over Australia in last year's Davis Cup final with a decisive win over Alexei Popyrin.
And the revenge was served cold, with de Minaur ruthlessly reeling off 10 successive games mid-match to blow open the second-round encounter.
"It's no secret it was heartbreaking at the end of the year, losing to Italy in the Davis Cup final," the Open's 10th seed said.
"But I told the boys we're going to be back there, we're going to get another chance, and today was a little bit of revenge for Australia and I'm happy to be in the next round."
De Minaur next faces 21-year-old qualifier Flavio Cobolli on Friday for a spot in the last 16.
"Cobolli, he's a young Italian player, a little bit like Arnaldi," de Minaur said.
"(He) has firepower. He's rising up the rankings, playing some great tennis.
"Obviously came through 'qualies', and it's not easy coming through qualies at a slam.
"So he's definitely got a lot of confidence under his belt. He'll be very difficult to play against.
"But, again, I've got to focus on my side of the court, put my head down and hopefully do my thing."
Unbeaten this year after opening the season with head-turning wins over Novak Djokovic, Alexander Zverev, Taylor Fritz and an exhibition defeat of Carlos Alcaraz, de Minaur will be a hot favourite to continue his run.
Especially if he ups the ante even further, as he's promising to in pursuit of a spot in the last 16 for a third consecutive year.
"I'm always going to be my harshest critic," de Minaur said.
"That's never going to change, doesn't matter where I am in the world or what I'm doing.
"I do think I've got more to give and I really, really would like to show what I'm capable of.
"So far I have done what I needed to do to win the matches. It hasn't been probably the prettiest of levels or my best level.
"I played two opponents where maybe I haven't been allowed to be as aggressive as I would like because they've got a lot of firepower.
"But I do think I've got a lot more to show."
