Jannik Sinner defeated Ben Shelton 6-3 6-4 6-4 to reach the Australian Open semi-finals and set up a clash with Novak Djokovic.
In a rematch of last year’s semi-final, Sinner survived occasional threats from Shelton on return to win in straight sets and return to the final four.
As for Shelton, the American created multiple break point opportunities but was never able to break the defending champion’s serve.
The world number two will now face Novak Djokovic in a rematch of the semi-final clash from a couple of years ago.
It was a testing start for Sinner as Shelton came out of the blocks quickly and created break point but that was quickly snuffed out by the Italian.
The pressure came back onto Shelton quickly as the American had a long service hold to overcome in the second game but some crucial first serves helped him stay on track.
There was a lot of clean hitting from Shelton early on especially on the forehand side but the American lacked the point construction to go with it.
That was far from the case with Sinner as he was just one step ahead of Shelton and the Italian broke serve for a 3-1 lead.
The break of serve gave Sinner confidence as he threatened the double break by creating three more break point opportunities.
However, some deadly body serves got Shelton out of trouble as he minimised the deficit to just one break.
An ace finished a love hold off as Sinner failed to lose a point in his last three service games of the opening set and he had the early advantage.
There was some early pressure from Shelton in the second set but Sinner’s consistency on return proved too much with the Italian breaking for an early 2-1 lead.
Consolidating the break was a very difficult task for Sinner as Shelton constructed some tidy points and was persistent with his threat on return.
A frustrated Shelton missed easy shots on break points and Sinner saved all three break points to take a 3-1 lead.
There was some tricky games for Sinner on serve and the Italian made some critical errors to allow Shelton in some of those service games.
When it mattered most, Sinner produced high quality tennis and ultimately ended up securing a two set lead.
In the third set both players served incredibly but the writing seemed to be on the wall as Sinner had more energy and ideas on return.
One last act of defiance was produced from Shelton as he saved two break points to take a 3-2 lead.
However, it was a double fault that costed Shelton the match as Sinner wrapped up a straight sets win to book his place into the semi-finals.
Now, Sinner will face Djokovic in a rematch from their semi-final from a couple of years ago which the Italian won in four sets.
After his semi-final win Sinner spoke about facing Djokovic on Friday, “These are the moments you practise for,” the Italian was quoted by BBC Sport as saying.
“You wake up in the morning and you just look forward to playing a good match, and if you want to win you have to play your best. I’m looking forward to it but also I’ve had great lessons in the past and [the results of those matches] doesn’t really matter, it improves you as a player and as a person.
“We’re so lucky to have Novak here – playing incredible tennis at his age. We play for you guys but we also play for us so hopefully it’s going to be a great battle out here but of course it’s going to be very, very difficult.”
