You could almost hear a pin drop inside Rod Laver Arena as Jannik Sinner played clinical tennis to edge Alex de Minaur to set up Friday's Australian Open semi-final tussle with Ben Shelton.
The American edged Lorenzo Sonego in four titanic sets, his fourth on the trot in Melbourne, to advance to a maiden last-four appearance Down Under and second overall after his exploits at the US Open in 2023.
Match preview
© Imago
There might have been worrisome signs after Sinner's fourth-round success over Holger Rune, but those fears were cast aside after the Italian's thrilling display to silence an expectant home crowd to edge De Minaur 6-3, 6-2, 6-1 in one hour and 48 minutes.
It was the shortest time the top seed has spent on court en route to Friday's semi-final showdown, ironically coming against the highest-ranked player faced in his title defence, as the 23-year-old edged De Minaur for the 10th time.
The upshot of a ninth straight match without a set dropped against the Aussie means Sinner's winning streak in hard-court majors has stretched to 19 victories, while his sequence of triumphs Down Under stands at 12 before his sixth meeting with Shelton on tour.
Only two players defeated the Italian top seed on the surface last year – Carlos Alcaraz (twice) and Andrey Rublev – and neither remain in the men's draw in Melbourne this year, strengthening the champion's prospects of a successful title defence in Australia.
First, the youngest player after Rafael Nadal (2008-09) to reach consecutive semis at the Aussie Open must overcome the cracking serve of his American opponent in the semis before facing off with the sport's greatest player, Novak Djokovic, or 23-time tour champion Alexander Zverev in a potential title match on Sunday.
© Imago
Shelton's hard-hitting and powerful ball-striking must be top-shelf if he is to defeat the best hard-court performer on tour, though it remains to be seen if the 22-year-old's principal weapons hold out against Sinner – he has consistently landed 70% of his first serves in his last three matches against Lorenzo Musetti, Gael Monfils and Sonego, winning an average of 78.8% of the points on those successful first deliveries.
Another thrilling showing against first-time quarter-finalist Sonego thrilled fans for three hours and 50 minutes, with sets two and four lasting over an hour.
The United States player created some history by beating the 29-year-old as he now advances to a first semi-final appearance Down Under and second overall, although his US Open last-four debut ended in straights against a no-nonsense Djokovic, who took umbrage at the young player's on-court exuberance.
Two years since those events in New York, both players, who could meet in Sunday's final, have taken exception to broadcasters or on-court interviewers at the soon-to-conclude tournament, with the American No. 4 citing the latter after beating Monfils in the fourth round.
Keen to refocus after feeling slighted, the world No. 20, who improved to 11-2 in Melbourne, aims to halt the defending champion's march to back-to-back finals Down Under and a third consecutive championship match at hard-court majors.
Tournament so far
Jannik Sinner:
First round: vs. Nicolas Jarry 7-6[2] 7-6[5] 6-1
Second round: vs. Tristan Schoolkate 4-6 6-4 6-1 6-3
Third round: vs. Marcos Giron 6-3 6-4 6-2
Round of 16: vs. Holger Rune 6-3 3-6 6-3 6-2
Quarter-final: vs. Alex de Minaur 6-3 6-2 6-1
Ben Shelton:
First round: vs. Brandon Nakashima 7-6[3] 7-5 7-5
Second round: vs. Pablo Carreno Busta 6-3 6-3 6-7[4] 6-4
Third round: vs. Lorenzo Musetti 6-3 3-6 6-4 7-6[5]
Round of 16: vs. Gael Monfils 7-6[3] 6-7[3] 7-6[2] 1-0 ret
Quarter-final: vs. Lorenzo Sonego 6-4 7-5 4-6 7-6[4]
Semi-final:
Head To Head
Shanghai Masters (2024) - Fourth round: Sinner 6-4 7-6[1]
Wimbledon (2024) - Fourth round: Sinner 6-2 6-4 7-6(9)
Indian Wells (2024) - Fourth round: Sinner 7-6(4) 6-1
Vienna (2023) - Round of 32: Sinner 7-6(2) 7-5
Shanghai Masters (2023) - Fourth round: Shelton 2-6 6-3 7-6(5)
While Shelton got the better of Sinner in the pair's first meeting on the ATP Tour, subsequent match-ups have gone the Italian's way.
Strikingly, the world No. 1 has not dropped a set in the past four encounters with the 22-year-old, though he has needed to play high-level tennis to edge several tie-breaks.
Sinner is 9-1 in the last 10 matches with left-handed opponents, though that sole defeat came against Friday's opponent in Shanghai two years ago.
While he is 4-4 in majors against lefties, the top seed has notched four straight victories over such opponents, beating Juan Manuel Cerundolo (Wimbledon 2023), Corentin Moutet (Roland Garros 2024), Shelton (Wimbledon 2024) and Jack Draper (US Open 2024).
Although Shelton has defeated top-10 players in two of his previous three matches against the elite – Daniil Medvedev at the Laver Cup last year and Rublev at the Swiss Indoors – he has a 5-12 win-loss record against the highest-ranked players.
The 22-year-old's only Grand Slam victory over opponents in that bracket was his very first against Frances Tiafoe at the 2023 US Open quarter-finals; however, he has been beaten in the recent two: losing to Novak Djokovic at Flushing Meadows and to Sinner at last year's Championships.
We say: Sinner to win in four sets
If Sinner's health was a worry before facing De Minaur, his brutal defeat of the Aussie showed a return to form ahead of the semi-final and a possible final.
While this one could be over in straights, Shelton's booming serve, cracking forehand and tendency to favour extended sets could see the American player nick one set, but no more than that against the world No. 1, who ought to advance to Sunday's championship match.
