With a solid playing style and the ability to dominate from the baseline, Jannik Sinner defeated Ben Shelton in three sets, raising their head-to-head record to 9-1 and advancing to the semi-finals of the Australian Open.
Jannik Sinner continued his Australian Open title defense, moving closer to a hat-trick after easily defeating Ben Shelton 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 in the quarter-finals on the afternoon of January 28th.
Sinner celebrates his victory in the quarter-finals (Photo: Getty).
The two-time defending champion, Sinner maintained an unbeaten streak in Melbourne since 2024, giving his American opponent no chance to turn the tables. The No. 2 seed displayed a cool and consistent performance, extending his dominance over Shelton in their previous encounters.
Eighth seed Shelton lost only one set on his way to the quarterfinals, but once again, he struggled to utilize his powerful game against Sinner. The Italian exploited Shelton's backhand, constantly pressured him on the forehand side, and dominated the baseline game. This victory increased Sinner's head-to-head record against Shelton to 9-1. Notably, Shelton has lost all four of their Grand Slam encounters, including twice in Australia and twice at Wimbledon.
This marks Sinner's ninth appearance in a Grand Slam semi-final and his third at the Australian Open. He will face a formidable challenge in Novak Djokovic, who holds the record for 10 titles at the tournament. Sinner has had memorable victories against Djokovic in the semi-finals, including at the 2024 Australian Open, 2025 Roland Garros, and 2025 Wimbledon.
Shelton played inconsistently against Sinner (Photo: Getty)
With his solid first serves and consistent rallies, Sinner gave Shelton no respite. He quickly found his rhythm on Rod Laver Arena, demonstrating his determination with a backhand shot that went over the net in the third game. The turning point came when Sinner secured a crucial break after a forehand error from Shelton, taking a 3-1 lead.
Sinner closed out the opening set convincingly with an impressive winner-to-unforced error ratio of 18-4, maintaining his momentum into the second set. The pressure on Shelton intensified as the American struggled to find consistency and repeatedly made errors at crucial moments. Shelton missed all three break points in this set and committed 17 more unforced errors, allowing Sinner to extend his lead.
Despite showing signs of physical trouble towards the end of the second set, Sinner secured the decisive break in the third set in the ninth game after Shelton committed a double fault at 15/40. The Italian then finished the match with his own service game, sealing the victory after 2 hours and 23 minutes of play.
Djokovic playing against Musetti (Photo: Getty).
Lorenzo Musetti was unable to end his Grand Slam winning streak against Novak Djokovic in a heartbreaking manner on the afternoon of January 28th in Melbourne. The Italian player was forced to retire while leading 6-4, 6-3, 1-3 in the Australian Open quarterfinal match between the two.
Stepping onto the Rod Laver Arena with a record of losing all three previous Grand Slam encounters against Djokovic, Musetti displayed outstanding all-around form in the quarterfinals, taking a two-set lead. However, he appeared to suffer an injury to his upper right thigh in the third game of the third set. Despite continuing to play after receiving treatment from a physiotherapist when trailing 1-2, the Italian player ultimately had to withdraw after 2 hours and 8 minutes of play.