Jannik Sinner’s extraordinary 12 months since losing in last year’s Wimbledon semi-finals – winning half a dozen ATP titles, helping Italy win the Davis Cup for the first time in 47 years, winning his first major championship and becoming the first Italian to top the ATP’s world rankings – have been attributed to a rebuilt serve and the increased confidence it has generated.
That reinvented shot was on full display on Sunday when the No.1 seed reached the last eight with a 6-2, 6-4, 7-6 (9) win over American Ben Shelton after two hours and eight minutes. But it was Sinner’s superb return game that made the fourth-rounder feel like a no contest until Shelton won again on the final attempt.
Playing under the roof of No. 1 Court after rain wreaked havoc on the outer courts, Sinner completely dominated Shelton for the first hour before fighting back in the third set to advance to the quarter-finals for the third consecutive year and set up a semi-final clash with Carlos Alcaraz.
“It was a very tough match, especially the third set,” said Sinner, who will now play either Russia’s Daniil Medvedev or Bulgaria’s Grigor Dimitrov. “Matches like this can go on for a very long time. I’m very happy to finish it in three sets.”
Of the seven American players left in the men’s and women’s draws on Sunday morning, few players who have reached the second week at Wimbledon have generated as much American excitement as the 21-year-old Shelton. But Sunday’s early stages showed just how far the surprise US Open semifinalist will have to go to reach contention at the major.
The gulf in class never looked great as Sinner broke twice and won with ease in the 29-minute opener, losing only one point on his racket while hitting nine winners against just four unforced errors. Yet it was his instinctive management of Shelton’s left-handed howitzer that kept the American from letting up on his serve as he was pressured and forced one error after another.
Losing the first set was no death knell for Shelton, who had come from behind in three consecutive five-setters to reach the fourth round, but Sunday’s task was clearly a step up from Mattia Bellucci, Lloyd Harris or Denis Shapovalov. The American got a break immediately in the second set, troubled by Sinner’s superb ball-striking, falling short in long rallies and making errors all over the court.
After the newsletter promotion
Yet Shelton made things interesting in the third game. He finally created a break chance in his opening return game, converting the best of a tough 18-shot exchange, then held strong with a tension-free hold. Sinner hit back shortly after, but a game full of mistakes forced the Italian to save a set point before forcing a tie-break – a tense affair in which Shelton wasted three more set points and saved a match point before double-faulting on the second.
Sinner and Alcaraz – who have emerged as the sport’s most compelling rivalry – will meet in the last four on Friday if both win their next matches. Their last 10 meetings include the epic five-setter at the French Open last month, which was followed by memorable encounters at Wimbledon and the US Open in 2022.
