Jannik Sinner beat Ben Shelton 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 on Wednesday at Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne, to reach the semi-finals of the Australian Open. The Italian, chasing a third consecutive title, maintained his unbeaten run at the event since 2023 and extended his record against Shelton to 9-1.
Shelton, the eighth seed, had dropped only one set en route to his third Australian Open quarter-final, but he struggled against Sinnerโs baseline dominance and tactical aggression. The 22-year-old Italian exploited Sheltonโs backhand and dictated rallies from the baseline, closing out the match in two hours and 23 minutes.
โIt is very tough to play against Ben,โ Sinner said. โHe has a huge, huge serve and I feel like he is improving so much, year after year. Especially after the offseason, you donโt know how certain players are going to play against you and change lots of things. I am very happy with todayโs performance.โ
Sinner now faces Novak Djokovic in the semi-finals, marking his ninth Grand Slam semi-final and third at the Australian Open. The second seed has previously defeated Djokovic at the Australian Open 2024, Roland Garros 2025 and Wimbledon 2025.
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โThese are the moments you practise for,โ Sinner said. โI will wake up in the morning and will look forward to playing a good match hopefully. If you want to win you have to play at your best. In the past I have had great lessons and it doesnโt really matter the result, it improves you as a player and a person. We are lucky to still have Novak here, playing incredible tennis at his age.โ
Sinner dominated behind his first serve, absorbed Sheltonโs pace, and converted key break points. He finished the opening set with 18 winners to 4 unforced errors, and maintained momentum through the second and third sets, securing the decisive break in the ninth game of the final set.
Sinner has now won all 18 of his Grand Slam matches against American opponents and holds a 6-2 record against Top 10 players at the Australian Open hard courts.
