Ben Shelton has the tools to unlock the games of many top players. But when it comes to Italy’s Jannik Sinner, the code is near impossible to crack.
Sinner continued his domination of the American southpaw on Day 11, stretching his run of consecutive sets won against Shelton to 22 as he scored a 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 victory to earn his 17th consecutive Australian Open match win.
The 24-year-old Italian, who will face Novak Djokovic in the semifinals, becomes the fifth player in Open Era history to reach six consecutive Grand Slam semifinals. He claimed his ninth consecutive victory over Shelton, and stretched his current winning streak, which dates back to the beginning of his run to the Vienna title last fall, to 20.
The No.2 seed kept his unforced errors low and converted a break in each of the first two sets to take a commanding lead. After breaking for 3-1 in set one, he threatened to take a double-break lead in the fifth game, but Shelton held his ground by saving three break points.
Not to worry, Sinner won his final 14 service points of the set, never giving Shelton a chance to draw level.
Sinner broke for 2-1 in set two then saved three break points to hold for 3-1. That was enough to wrap the second set.
Shelton managed to take Sinner to a tiebreak in the opening set when they met in the Australian Open semifinals last year, and he turned up the heat in the third set in an attempt to put a dent in the Italian’s domination. He was defiant at 2-2, 15-40, reeling off four consecutive points to hold for 3-2.
The third set was Shelton’s best of the night, but he let things slip away while serving at 4-4. Down 0-40 he saved a first break point but double-faulted on the next to give Sinner a chance to serve out a straight sets win.
The Italian stayed on script and put the match away, converting his first match point at the two hour and 23-minute mark.
Sinner has a five-match winning streak against Novak Djokovic, including straight set wins at Roland-Garros and Wimbledon last year. Even 24-time major champions can’t seem to crack the Italian’s code.
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