But not for the first time, 'Demon' will be the only Aussie left standing in the singles at a Masters 1000 event after his two compatriots Chris O'Connell and Aleksandar Vukic both went tumbling out of the tournament on Saturday.
De Minaur proved far too good for world No.45 Camilo Ugo Carabelli, despatching the Argentine 6-4 6-2 in just 88 minutes to annex a personal-best 48th victory of the season.
The victory took him past the mark of 47 wins in the 2024 and 2022 seasons, while his 35th hard-court victory of 2025 is the most on the surface by any player this campaign.
Only Carlos Alcaraz (67) and Taylor Fritz (50) have enjoyed more victories this year than his 48, while de Minaur is also the first Australian man for 21 years since Lleyton Hewitt to enjoy that many wins in a single campaign.
He seems to be getting stronger the longer the season progresses, and will fancy his chances of bringing up a half-century this week as he next faces Poland's world No.66 Kamil Majchrzak, a 6-4 6-0 victor over 29th-seeded American Brandon Nakashima.
De Minaur lost to Italian Jannik Sinner in the China Open semi-finals in Beijing earlier this week, his 11th straight loss to the world No.2, but the pair can't meet in Shanghai until the final as they're on opposite sides of the draw.
Eventual Beijing champ Sinner made a solid start to his title defence on Saturday with a straightforward 6-3 6-3 win over German Daniel Altmaier, setting up a last-16 clash with Dutchman Tallon Griekspoor in the next round.
But life looks easier on de Minaur's half of the draw after Alcaraz pulled out of the tournament with a left ankle concern following his victory in the Japan Open.
The Australian could meet Daniil Medvedev, a 6-1 6-1 winner over qualifier Dalibor Svrcina on Saturday, should he get past Majchrzak, and that would consolidate his already strong position to get into the ATP Finals in Turin for the second straight year.
He's currently seventh in the season-long 'Race to Turin' with only the top eight qualifying, and he's already built a healthy lead over the ninth-placed player, Britain's Jack Draper.
But once again, de Minaur has proved the best of the original half-dozen Australians in the Shanghai main draw after his fellow Sydneysiders both succumbed on Saturday, O'Connell eliminated by Canada's 23rd seed Denis Shapovalov 6-3 6-2 and Vukic going down to Portugal's Nuno Borges 7-6 (9-7) 6-4.
