Jannik Sinner beats Ben Shelton, sets up Novak Djokovic Australian Open SF | ATP Tour

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Offender passes Shelton, sets up Djokovic Australian Open SF

Italy is chasing a third straight Australian Open title

January 28, 2026

Jannik Sinner kept his Australian Open bid within three points on Wednesday, when he produced another scintillating performance to put away Ben Shelton and extend his rivalry with the American.

The two-time defending champion, unbeaten in Melbourne since 2023, never looked in much danger against Shelton, overcoming the eighth seed 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 to book his place in the semi-finals.

Shelton had dropped just one set en route to a third quarterfinal at the Australian Open, but as in the pair’s previous meetings, he struggled to find his explosive game against the Italian. Sinner exposed Shelton’s backhand, rushed him to the forehand and told him from the baseline to improve his Lexus ATP Head2Head record to 9-1. Four of their major encounters have now gone Sinner’s way, twice in Australia and twice at Wimbledon.

“It’s very difficult to play with Ben,” said Sinner. “He has a big career, and I feel like he’s improving a lot, year after year. Especially after the offseason, you never know how certain players are going to play against you and change a lot of things. I’m very happy with today’s performance.”

In his ninth Grand Slam semi-final and third at the Australian Open, the four-time major champion will face the next test against Novak Djokovic who has won a record 10 times. Sinner has enjoyed notable semi-final success against the Serbian before, defeating him at that stage at the Australian Open (2024), Roland Garros (2025) and Wimbledon (2025).

“These are the times you practice,” Sinner said when facing Djokovic. “I will wake up in the morning looking to play a good match hopefully. If you want to win you have to play your best. In the past I have had good lessons and it doesn’t matter the result, it improves you as a player and a person. We are lucky that we still have Novak here, he is playing amazing tennis at his age.”

HHPED! 😳

Novak Djokovic vs Jannik Sinner place in the 2026 Australian Open final#AO26 pic.twitter.com/zzxBo1zBsF

– ATP Tour (@atptour) January 28, 2026

Steady after his first performance and unmoved in the long circles, the second seed did not allow Shelton to relent, holding the pace calmly before redirecting it with interest. Sinner quickly found his stride at Rod Laver Arena, announcing his intention with a game-winning winner after opening the third game. Seconds later, he hit a pinfall, breaking Shelton while the World No. 7 pushing forward down the net to slip behind 1-3.

Sinner closed out the opening set in commanding fashion, finishing with an 18–4 error advantage in the set, and carried that momentum into the second. The pressure on Shelton’s game grew, the three-time tour-level lineup couldn’t settle into a clear pattern of play and faltered at key moments. Shelton dropped all three break points she created in the set and leaked another 17 unforced errors, allowing Sinner to continue to clear.

Sinner, who appeared to be struggling physically at the end of the second set, got the decisive break of the third set in the ninth game when Shelton hit a double fault at 15/40. The Italian closed the gap to go ahead after two hours and 23 minutes.

Did you know?
Sinner has won all 18 of his Grand Slam matches against American opponents and has a 6-2 record against Top 10 players on hard court, having lost his first two matches to Stefanos Tsitsipas in 2022 and 2023.