Jannik Sinner moved into the Australian Open semifinals with a straight-sets win over Ben Shelton, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4, keeping alive his bid for a third straight title in Melbourne. The two-time defending champion has not lost at this tournament since 2023 and rarely looked threatened by the eighth seed.
Sinner’s Dominance on the Court
Sinner controlled the baseline exchanges, repeatedly targeting Shelton’s backhand and hurrying him on the forehand side. He handled the American’s power with composed defense and precise counterpunching, and his first serve held up in the longer rallies. An early break put Sinner ahead 3-1 in the opening set, which he closed with a dominant winners-to-unforced-errors margin of 18–4.
The pressure only grew in the second set. Shelton created three break points but failed to convert any of them and finished the set with 17 unforced errors, while Sinner stayed steady to pull further in front. Although the Italian appeared to flag briefly late in the second, he maintained control. In the third set, he seized the decisive break in the ninth game when Shelton double-faulted at 15/40, then served out the match. The contest lasted two hours and 23 minutes.
The result extends Sinner’s commanding record against Shelton to 9–1. All four of their meetings at the majors have gone Sinner’s way, twice in Australia and twice at Wimbledon.
Next up is Novak Djokovic, the tournament’s record 10-time champion, in a high-profile semifinal. This is Sinner’s ninth Grand Slam semifinal and his third at the Australian Open. He has enjoyed notable semifinal wins over Djokovic at this stage before, including at the Australian Open in 2024, Roland Garros in 2025, and Wimbledon in 2025.
Sinner is now 18–0 against American opponents at the Grand Slams. At the Australian Open, he owns a 6–2 mark against Top 10 players; his two defeats in those matchups came against Stefanos Tsitsipas in 2022 and 2023. As he prepares for the semifinal clash, fans and analysts alike are eager to see if Sinner can continue his impressive form and challenge Djokovic for a place in the finals.