Sinner takes Shelton under his thumb to reach third consecutive Australian Open semi-finals – Tennis Now
By Chris Oddo | Wednesday, January 28, 2026
Photo credit: Antoine Couvertcelle/ROLEX
Ben Shelton Has the tools to unlock many games for top players. But when it comes to Italy Jannik Sinnerthe code is nearly impossible to crack.
Sinner continued his dominance over the American southpaw on Day 11, extending his winning streak against Shelton to 22 sets as he prevailed 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 to earn his 17th consecutive Australian Open victory.
“Yeah, honestly, he’s getting better every time I play because his serve is better, his serve has changed a lot, his backhand has improved, as we saw today,” Sinner said of Shelton. “He tried to be very, very aggressive.
You know, sometimes he changes a little more, sometimes he changes a little less, but that’s also how you feel that day. You know, you can’t close your eyes and just do it.
“I think he’s going to see a great season this year. Now that’s the same for him, you know, the experience he had last year, that’s a big package for him as well. He’s handled certain situations. You see his mentality has changed a little bit and he’s very eager to improve as a player. He’s put in a lot of hard work. He’s got a great team behind him.”
“Yeah, I think he’s only going to improve and he’s going to become more and more dangerous.”
The 24-year-old Italian will face Novak Djokovic Became the fifth player in Open history to reach six consecutive Grand Slam semifinals. He defeated Sheldon for the ninth consecutive time and extended his winning streak to 20 games since he began competing for the Vienna title last fall.
“Obviously, you know, he’s got a lot of experience,” Sinner said of Djokovic. “You see him on the court. You know, he knows how to handle every situation in the best way possible.
“Me, as a 24-year-old, I’m lucky to have a guy like him in front of me and I hope to learn something. I feel like every day, every time he plays, I learn something about him, about Carlos, about all the other great players.
“I think it’s a positive, you know? I think the way he plays, the way he moves, if you’re not professional you can’t get to this level. He’s an inspiration to all of us, especially the younger players.”
The second seed kept her unforced errors to a low level and broke serve in each of the first two sets to take a commanding lead. After breaking at 3-1 in the first set, he threatened to take a double-break lead in the fifth game, but Shelton saved three break points to hold on.
Don’t worry, Sinner won the last 14 service points of the set and gave Shelton no chance to equalize.
Sinner broke serve at 2-1 in the second set and then saved three break points to chase the score to 3-1. That was enough to end the second set.
In last year’s Australian Open semifinals, Shelton took Sinner to a tiebreak in the first set and stepped up the attack in the third set in an attempt to chip away at the Italian’s dominance. He was very tenacious in the game of 2-2, 15-40, scoring 4 consecutive points to tie the score to 3-2.
The third set was Shelton’s best of the night, but he let things slip away as he served for a 4-4 lead. Trailing 40-0, he saved the first break point but double-faulted on the next break point, giving Sinner a chance to win in straight sets.
The Italian played according to the script and won the first match point 2 hours and 23 minutes into the game.
Sinner has won five straight matches against Novak Djokovic, including straight wins at Roland Garros and Wimbledon last year. Even the 24-time major champion can’t seem to crack the Italian’s code.
