But while Australia's top hope and a rejuvenated Daria Kasatkina motored through to the second round on a sweltering Monday at Roland Garros, teenager Emerson Jones found the going rather too hot as she was given an hour-long lesson on Court Philippe Chatrier by the four-time champion Iga Swiatek.
And there was further disappointment as the Aussie women's No.1 Maya Joint was trounced by Austrian No.28 seed Anastasia Potapova.
De Minaur pronounced himself "happy with a very consistent match" after outplaying British main draw debutant Toby Samuel 6-4 6-4 6-2 and building on the new focus and confidence he'd gleaned by reaching last week's Hamburg Open semis.
Conditions could hardly have been further removed from last week's cold and rain in Germany, but de Minaur loved the "very hot and lively" sun-baked courts. "I'm very happy with the way I had adapted, I did what I needed to do," he said.
The big-serving, confident 23-year-old Briton had shown he wasn't to be trifled with as he sent Belgian veteran David Goffin into Roland Garros retirement with victory in qualifying, and having risen 1786 places to No.159 in the world since the end of 2024, he matched the world No.7 in the early exchanges.
But eighth seed de Minaur was too solid, grabbing a break at 3-2 after a series of errors from Samuel, and taking out the set in 35 minutes.
The Sydneysider was out of sorts at the start of the second, playing an awful service game to go down 2-0 before hitting back instantly, taking control again with a break for 4-3, even though the Brit will look back on a series of missed chances.
By the third set, with temperatures now soaring to 33C, de Minaur hit the accelerator, winning the last four games for the loss of just three points to set up what he knows will be a much more challenging date with rising Belgian star Alexander Blockx in round two.
A month after plummeting to her lowest ranking for 11 years, the Paris courts where she enjoyed her best grand slam in reaching the semis in 2022 seemed to re-energise Kasatkina as she prevailed 6-4 6-4 against Turkey's Zeynep Sonmez despite admitting to also having played far from her best in "brutal" heat.
Last year, in her first grand slam after announcing her new allegiance to Australia, Kasatkina proved 'the last Aussie standing' as she made the fourth round.
She will be looking for another deep run after holding firm on the biggest points against Sonmez in a contest featuring 10 breaks of serve.
"Honestly, a couple of weeks ago I would probably lose this match. Today, I was able to win it. Maybe not playing my best, but being there mentally, like very present," enthused the 29-year-old.
There was never any chance of 17-year-old Jones causing one of the great Roland Garros upsets as Swiatek returned to the court she used to dominate.
Almost inevitably, Swiatek gave the Gold Coast prospect a 6-1 6-2 drubbing, despite needing treatment after the first set for a blister on her racquet hand.
That's not to say Jones didn't give a decent account of herself after losing the first eight points of the match, shocking the Polish third seed by breaking back with a scintillating inside-out forehand winner.
Jones, the former junior world No.1 on her overseas grand slam debut, also showed commendable spirit after picking herself up following a tumble.
She broke again when 3-0 down in the second set before Swiatek quickly wrapped up matters on the hour.
Joint is still feeling her way back after two months out with a back injury, and was no match for Potapova, who gave up just three games in a 6-1 6-2 drubbing in just 71 minutes.
