Sinner stops Shelton, extends Turin winning streak to eight games – Tennis Now
By Richard Pagliaro Friday, November 14, 2025
Photo credit: Erste BankOpen Facebook
Electric Expectation Hug Jannik Sinner as he took the stage in Turin in front of adoring Italian fans.
Unleashing the power of pyrotechnics, the criminals defused the explosives Ben Shelton Today, he won eight consecutive matches in the ATP Finals with a score of 6-3, 7-6(3).
Sinner showed his high ceiling indoors, extending his indoor hard court winning streak to 29 games.
Defending champion Sinner won 16 straight sets in Turin – he has not dropped a set in Turin since bowing to the seven-time champion Novak Djokovic The 2023 finals and completed the round robin with a perfect record of 3-0, winning the Bjorn Borg category.
irresistible @janniksin 😰
Sinner fights off Shelton to continue his indoor winning streak!#NittoATP Finals pic.twitter.com/0UziXc0hic
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) November 14, 2025
Faced with Shelton’s lethal southpaw serve, Sinner made a statement on his serve. Sinner hit 75% of his serves, nearly double Shelton’s ace production (11 to 6), and blasted five game-ending aces to extend his impressive streak. Sinner saved the only break point she faced in the fourth game and has yet to relinquish serve in Turin this week.
“Every game was challenging, especially against Ben, who served unbelievably,” Sinner told Prakash Amritraj of Tennis Channel after. “Sometimes you see little looks that, you know, need to be broken. But at the end of the day, if he throws bombs, it’s very difficult.
“At the same time, it’s been an amazing week so far. To see myself in the semifinals again in my home country is very, very special for me. Today, I served well in the important moments. But most importantly, I’m in good spirits. I’m happy to be here. I’m a guy who wants to win as many games as possible and I’ve done that. I’m happy to be in the semifinals and let’s see what happens next.”
No one adores Janik like Turin ❤️🇮🇹@janniksin #NittoATP Finals pic.twitter.com/yRy4XGpDwC
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) November 14, 2025
Shelton, who is participating in the ATP Finals for the first time, is winless in three round-robin matches this week. Sheldon took the field and locked in the year-end ranking No. 1 in the United States. He played a wonderful game today. Shelton was the first to test Sinner in a tiebreaker in the past two years, but ultimately his two-handed backhand could not withstand Sinner’s suffocating baseline shots, and his record against the world No. 2 opponent fell to 1-8. Shelton showed some signs of why he’s so dangerous as he used his ballistic serve to prepare for a left-hand forehand, but his weaker backhand wing was exposed in the long stalemate and he lost to Sinner for the eighth straight time due to his inability to get to the net enough.
“Everyone connects differently. I just went out for a while [after US Open injury]”It’s going to take me a little while to find my rhythm,” Shelton told the media in Turin. “It’s difficult to try to do that at the end of the year when the players are in really good shape.”
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Losing means advancing to the 2024 finals Taylor FritzIn the semi-finals, they were defeated 7-6(3), 6-3. Alex de Minaur Yesterday, it maintained its year-end ranking of No. 1 in the United States. Fritz ranked 5th ATP real-time rankingShelton ended a strong season by finishing fifth on the court and winning his first Masters title in Toronto, but he dropped to ninth in the ATP Live Rankings.
The No. 2 sinner’s serve was so impenetrable in Turin that you almost wondered if he was wielding a steel rod. During the second set, the bumper on the top of Sinner’s Head’s racket came off, which was really the only minor crack in his majestic game.
It’s a problematic matchup for Shelton because the lanky Sinner can use his wide wingspan to slam back the ball while outstretched, and because Sinner can deconstruct Shelton’s dead-arm backhand, the American’s weaker wing.
It didn’t take long for Sinner to make a statement in return.
The defending champion opened the match with two backhand errors. Sinner sent an ACE ball to confirm the break with a score of 2-0.
Although a confident Shelton earned a break point in the fourth game, he failed to convert. Sinner leads 3-1 in a challenging draw.
Sinner stepped across the baseline and not only forced Shelton into long exchanges, but sometimes burned Shelton on baseline shots.
Sinner scalded two set points in the ninth game with a forehand down the line. Shelton saved the first ball but hit a forehand into the net on the second. Sinner broke serve for the second time after 39 minutes to take a set lead.
In the second set, Sinner showed off his pyrotechnic power and devastating hitting, swinging a wide receiver to make it 4-3. Shelton held serve after eight games, his third clean sheet in this set.
Two games later, Sinner won match point with Shelton’s serve. The fifth-seeded American saved match point with a short forehand from the baseline. Sheldon’s forehand shot into the bottom corner, creating a 5-level deadlock.
Sinner was tested in Turin for the first time in a decider since his 2023 semi-final win over Daniil Medvedev and he looked free from the start.
The Wimbledon champion hit a backhand behind Shelton for a mini-break and a 2-1 lead. Two points later, Sinner swept his 11th ace to extend the lead to 4-1.
“Here, on the indoor court, he hits the line a lot on his serve. There’s a lot of precision,” Shelton said of Sinner’s serve. “Generally, it’s easier to provide services indoors.
“If you look at the three guys I played, how tight they were defensively. He’s probably the closest of the three. But there’s very little difference between him, Zverev and Felix, what they did in this game.”
A wonderful backhand stab volley from Shelton helped him narrow the gap to 3-4, but that was Shelton’s last ditch effort on the break.
Sinner stood in the center of the court and circled the ball like a master matador, beating a 98 mph forehand winner at 5-3 and a deft backhand volley for match point at 6-3.
When Shelton’s backhand failed again, Sinner won in 1 hour and 34 minutes.
Bjorn Borg champion Sinner will face De Minaur in tomorrow’s semi-finals, while year-end world number one Carlos Alcaraz will face the winner of today’s final round-robin match between two-time former champion Alexander Zverev and two-time US Open semi-finalist Felix Auger-Aliassime.
When looking ahead to the next few rounds, Sinner has a habit of using the phrase “let’s see what happens next.”
If the past is just prologue, then the demonic destruction may well be coming. Sinner has a 12-0 record against De Minaur, including winning seven of eight sets in 2025.
“I think it’s a very unique place to play tennis, especially for me as an Italian,” Sinner said. “You know, we only have a few chances [at home]this is Rome, this is how it is here.
“I just try to make the home fans happy. I try to bring some good, calm energy at the end of the day and they want to see some good tennis and we try to provide that here. To do that you need to play against the best players in the world. I’m happy to be one of them and happy to be in the semi-finals. It’s a special place and it’s a place I feel very comfortable in. So let’s see what happens tomorrow.”
