Top seed Jannik Sinner delivered a controlled and efficient performance on Wednesday, defeating American Ben Shelton 7-6(2), 6-4, 6-4 on No. 1 Court to reach the Wimbledon semifinals. The 23-year-old Italian handled Shelton’s firepower with fast precision, completing the win in two hours and 19 minutes.
“Yeah, it’s frustrating,” Shelton said afterward. “With Sinner, his ball speed is really high. Never seen anything like it. You don’t see anything like it when you’re going through the draw. When you play him, it’s almost like things are in 2x speed. I’m usually pretty good at adjusting to that speed. Yeah, it’s difficult when a guy’s hitting the ball that big, that consistently off both wings, and serving the way he is.”
There were questions surrounding Sinner’s fitness after he slipped in his fourth-round match against Grigor Dimitrov, who retired with a pectoral injury. Sinner had appeared to tweak his elbow in the same match but didn’t show any real trouble in the quarterfinal.
“Yesterday I played 20 minutes without serving and not hitting 100%,” Sinner said. “I put into my mind that I’m going to play today. So the concerns were not that big if I would play or not. It was just a matter of what my percentage is.
“Today was very high, so I’m happy.”
The first set featured a light moment at 3-all when Shelton had just hit a 139mph ace. A fan shouted, “Let’s have a 140!” and Shelton responded with a 147mph bomb that missed long. He showed no reaction, staying focused as Sinner held steady. The Italian would take the set in a flawless tiebreak, winning seven straight points.
“Ben is very young, huge server,” Sinner said. “It’s not easy to play against because you might have chances, and then he serves well, and you don’t know exactly what to do.”
Sinner secured a single break in each of the next two sets and didn’t allow Shelton to gain traction. Central to his success was a forehand that has become a major weapon. Long considered a backhand-dominant player, Sinner’s forehand now dictates rallies and finishes points. Sinner is a great returner—it looked like he read Shelton’s serve easily. He also attacked Shelton’s backhand, which worked extremely well.
“I believe that I’m a different player, different person,” Sinner said. “Hopefully I can say that I’m more mature, too.
“Tennis is a mental game. It’s a mix of experience, getting used to it, and also, of course, the main priority is to get better as a player.”
His adaptation to grass continues. To cope with the worn court, Sinner played in brand-new shoes for extra grip—something he said he never does on other surfaces. “On grass, the main priority is to have lots of grip,” he explained. “I haven’t even played practice [in them].
“Of course, you aim to win tournaments you haven’t won, different surfaces,” he said. “I haven’t won [Wimbledon], so I want it even more.”
Up next for the Italian is Novak Djokovic, the seven-time Wimbledon champion.
“Me and Novak,” Sinner said, “we know us better because we played quite a lot.
“But I’ve never won against him here in Wimbledon, so it’s going to be a very, very tough challenge.
“Semifinals of Grand Slams—they’re amazing occasions, great chances,” he said. “Hopefully I can show some good tennis in the next round.”