Jannik Sinner was all business in a 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 win over eighth-seeded Ben Shelton to extend his winning streak to 19 at Melbourne Park.
That’s the kind of run that only his semifinal opponent, Novak Djokovic, has topped at the Australian Open.
After the Djokovic benefited from Lorenzo Musetti‘s untimely injury when up two sets to love. Sinner conceded he was lucky to still be in the tournament too, after struggling with cramps and staggering in his third-round match until the roof was closed and he went back on court reinvigorated.
Sinner’s third-round drama now seems like a distant memory after the two-time defending champion brushed aside the big-serving Shelton. It was his third win against the American in the past five Slams.
“It’s very tough to play against Ben,” Sinner said. “Huge serve and I feel like he’s improving so much year after year. Very happy about today’s performance. I felt like I returned great today.”
Now, for the third time in the past four majors, he finds Djokovic waiting in the semifinals. Sinner has a 6-4 lead in his career against Djokovic, winning the past five matches. That sequence includes the semifinals at the 2024 Australian Open and at Roland Garros and Wimbledon last year.
On facing Djokovic, the 24-year-old said: “These are moments why you practice, you wake up in the morning and you look forward to play hopefully a good match. We are still lucky to have Novak here playing incredible tennis with his age. Hopefully it’s going to be a great battle.”
Sinner’s strengths will come as no surprise to Djokovic, who has not won a set against the Italian player since their meeting two years ago in Melbourne.
They were on full display against Shelton — another man who must be sick of the sight of Sinner — in the night match at Rod Laver Arena. After winning their first clash in the fall of 2023, Shelton has lost all nine meetings since, failing to win a set in four Grand Slam encounters.
The problem for Shelton is that his main weapon — a serve that can reach speeds of 150 mph — plays to arguably Sinner’s biggest strength in his extraordinary return.
Shelton sent down a serve of 144 mph, the fastest of the tournament, in his opening service game but was under pressure throughout a first set in which Sinner hit 18 winners and made only four unforced errors.
Sinner has been trying to add more variety to his game, and he pulled a trick out of rival Carlos Alcaraz‘s book by sliding a winner around the net post in the fourth game, going on to break Shelton for the first time.
He could not quite maintain the same level over the next two sets, but Sinner’s dominance was never in question and a fourth consecutive Slam final against Alcaraz is now looming large.
The top four seeds have reached the final four in the men’s draw, with No. 1 Alcaraz and No. 3 Alexander Zverev set to meet in the other semifinal.
The Associated Press and PA contributed to this report.