Ben Shelton on losing Sinner: ‘I’m trying to put all the pieces together’ | ATP Tour

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Shelton on losing Sinner: ‘I’m trying to put all the pieces together’

The American has lost all four meetings against Sinner

January 28, 2026

Ben Shelton may have been stopped for the fourth time in a major by Jannik Sinner, but the American left the Rod Laver Arena on Wednesday with plenty to be encouraged about after another deep Grand Slam run.

The eighth seed went from one set down en route to a fifth major quarter-final before running into the Italian again, where Sinner extended his dominance in the match to a 9-1 lead in the Lexus ATP Head2Head series.

“I think my quality is better, and I’m getting better and I’m losing a lot of weight,” Shelton said when analyzing his progress. “I think this game takes time, and the results don’t always come when you want. I’m going to the stage now where I’m facing the toughest challenge in this game, and I think it’s close to putting everything together.

“I think it’s going to take one time when I do it to be able to finish me. It’s always been like that for me. I’m definitely not discouraged from playing like this, but I want to see myself come out on top and see what I can do from there in the match instead of being behind because I know how I feel when I’m out front and hitting slams. I feel strong for the other guys. The same.

“It’s a matter of time and work to try to put all the pieces together, because I’m not done yet, but I feel complete.”

Shelton reached his first quarter-final at the Australian Open in 2023. The 23-year-old has won three tour-level titles, including his first ATP Masters 1000 crown in Toronto, and broke into the Top 5 in the PIF ATP Rankings.

In Slams, Shelton has often submitted, highlighted by the semi-finals at the US Open (2023) and the Australian Open (2025). It’s under those circumstances, he admits, that his competitive instincts are strongest.

“I’m addicted. I’m getting more and more addicted to this game and looking at things, chasing the guys in front of me,” Shelton said. “Feeling the pressure you have on the court at a Grand Slam, there’s no better feeling… That’s what drives me every day, and I feel like the pressure is getting stronger every year.”

Shelton caused Sinner’s defense two problems at one point with his devastating first serve and damaging forehands, yet he was unable to capitalize on key moments in his 3-6, 4-6, 4-6 loss.

“I think I got two points on the break today, and I think I missed both of them, or maybe one of them was too weak and it blew me away,” Shelton said reflecting on the game.

“I think that with other guys, I can get away from entering the field and I’m neutral or I scratch a little bit on the first ball and I go back to neutral or start the offense. I did a very good job of that. But with a guy with the ability to combine with one that he has on both sides, I needed to be a lot better and be more objective, which he had when he opposed me. in uncomfortable positions and upset me a lot of times when I was working on the second and it made me think about what services I was using them.”