Sinner ousts Shelton, arranges Australian Open semis clash with Djokovic

By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña

Jannik Sinner’s Australian Open title defense campaign is still alive after sweeping Ben Shelton in the quarterfinals, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4, on Jan. 28, 2026, at Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne.

With another lopsided win, Sinner just set a highly anticipated semifinal showdown with Novak Djokovic, who bagged the quarterfinal win over Italy’s Lorenzo Musetti via walkover.

Before the quarterfinal matchup, Shelton boasted a 12-1 win-loss set ratio from his first-round win over Ugo Humbert up to his fourth-round demolition of Casper Ruud.

Little did the flamboyant American know that the defending Australian Open king would come out smoking hot, immediately taking a break lead to pull away, 5-3.

Sinner displayed some minor adjustments against Shelton when he put his flat-ball forehand stroke a little bit to the American’s wide side, which neutralized any heavy and deep topspin returns.

A minimal tweak, but it was a huge factor in Sinner’s first-set walk in the park, as Shelton never had any baseline momentum while being held behind the line for the majority of the exchanges.

Shelton attempted to counter by wrapping around to his left shoulder and positioning himself better when Sinner threw the wide flat forehand, but that still went to no avail, as the defending champion found a huge hole in the net area.

Sinner’s improved drop-shot efficiency dictated the tempo throughout the second set, backed by his thudding service possessions, which Shelton failed to break during the entire three-set affair.

The Italian ace started to leave Shelton in the dust after taking a double-break lead in the third set, as well as widening his gap in baseline points and the net-volley tally.

To everyone’s delight, Sinner wrapped up the quarterfinal clash with a service ace, followed by the game-sealing backhand hammer for his 107th point of the match.

“It is very tough to play against Ben,” Sinner said.
“He has a huge, huge serve and I feel like he is improving so much year after year. Especially after the offseason, you don’t know how certain players are going to play against you and change lots of things. I am very happy with today’s performance.”