While his rivals sweltered in the Melbourne Park heat, Alex Bolt made short work of junior champion Alexander Crnokrak in their quarter-final meeting at the Australian Open wildcard playoff.

Top seed Bolt swept aside his 17-year-old opponent 6-1 6-3 6-3 in blustery 35 degree conditions.

The South Australian-born 24-year-old said he hoped to get a straight-sets win after been taken to five in his opening clash against youngster Benard Nkomba.

Crnokrak beat Nkomba to win the national under-18 title last week.

“My goal was to get off to a good start so I didn’t have to hang around in the heat like I did on Monday,” Bolt said.

Despite the physical toll of his earlier win, the world No. 190 said it had helped him find his groove in his return to competition after a month’s break.

“The three and a half hours that I was on court has really put me in a good spot and I’m starting to see the ball a lot bigger and it certainly showed today,” Bolt said.