Defending champion Jannik Sinner breezed into the semifinals of the Australian Open with a convincing 6-3, 6-2, 6-1 win over home favorite Alex de Minaur on Wednesday in Melbourne.
Sinner put forth a dominant performance to extend his winning streak at hard-court Grand Slam events to 19 matches. The 23-year-old Italian won 64 percent of his first serves and 84 percent of his service points, and he also converted six of 10 break chances en route to ending the match in 1 hour, 48 minutes.
“I feel like today I was feeling everything,” Sinner said. “On days like this, when you break quite early in each set, it’s a little bit easier. He’s a tough competitor and an amazing player. … We know each other quite well now. We’ve played each other so many times and we try to understand each other’s games, and try to prepare ourselves in the best possible way.
“These kinds of matches, they can go quickly, but also they can change very fast if I go down with my level a little bit and he takes opportunities. I’m very happy about my performance today.”
Sinner showed no signs of the illness that hampered him in his previous match. He advanced to face 21st-seeded Ben Shelton, who is through to his first career Australian Open semifinal after defeating Italy’s Lorenzo Sonego 6-4, 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (4) on Wednesday.
Shelton, a 22-year-old Atlanta native, has competed in only one previous Grand Slam semifinal, when he lost to eventual champion Novak Djokovic of Serbia at the 2023 U.S. Open.
On Wednesday, Shelton prevailed by playing a steadier ground game than his opponent. Sonego finished with a slight edge in winners, 63-54, but he committed far more unforced errors, 55-33.
“I feel relieved right now. Shoutout to Lorenzo Sonego because that was some ridiculous tennis,” Shelton said on the court after the match. “I’m just really happy to be through, to get my first win on Rod Laver Arena. Thanks everybody for coming out, it was one of my favorite matches of my career.”
Shelton later changed his tune in what he deemed to be “disrespectful” conduct from broadcasters and those conducting on-court interviews at the tournament.
His comments included a reference to Tony Jones, a broadcaster from Australia who since has apologized after heckling fans and verbally taking shots at 24-time Grand Slam champion Djokovic.
Shelton also noted how American qualifier Learner Tien was subjected to “embarrassing” interviews before circling back to his recently conducted session after Wednesday’s match. During that session, the interviewer implied that Shelton would have no crowd support regardless of the winner of the Sinner-de Minaur match.
“Or today on the court, ‘Hey, Ben, how does it feel that no matter who you play in your next match, no one is going to be cheering for you?’ I mean, may be true, but I just don’t think the comment is respectful from a guy I’ve never met before in my life,” Shelton said. “I feel like broadcasters should be helping us grow our sport and help these athletes who just won matches on the biggest stage enjoy one of their biggest moments. I feel like there’s just been a lot of negativity. I think that’s something that needs to change.”
Shelton has met just one seeded player in the current fortnight, when he downed No. 16 Lorenzo Musetti of Italy in the third round.
Shelton owns just two ATP tournament titles, both in relatively minor events: the 2023 Japan Open in Tokyo and the 2024 U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championships in Houston. Last year, he failed to reach the quarterfinals in all four Grand Slam tournaments.
–Field Level Media
