JAKARTA - Jannik Sinner managed to reach the semifinals of the 2026 Australian Open, a result that kept him alive in his hopes of becoming a three-time champion in a row at the Grand Slam tournament earlier this season.
The Italian did not give Ben Shelton any mercy in a straight three-set match 6-3, 6-4, and 6-4 at Melbourne Park, Victoria, Australia, on Wednesday, January 28, 2026.
"It's very difficult to play against Ben. He has a very, very strong serve. I feel he is improving rapidly from year to year," said Sinner after the match as reported by the ATP website.
Sinner is a two-time defending champion who has been unbeaten in Melbourne since 2023. Shelton, on the other hand, has not lost a set on his way to this year's quarterfinal, but could not stop Sinner.
Sinner exposed Shelton's backhand weakness, putting pressure on his forehand side, and dominated from the back line to improve his win-loss record to 9-1.
Their four meetings at Grand Slam tournaments have been won by Sinner, twice in Australia and twice at Wimbledon.
"I'm very happy with today's performance. If you want to win, you have to play as well as possible. In previous years, I have learned a very valuable lesson," said Sinner.
This is Sinner's ninth Grand Slam semifinal overall and third at the Australian Open. He will next get a tough test against Novak Djokovic, a 10-time champion at Melbourne Park.
Sinner previously had success in the Australian Open semi-final against the Serbian. He also recorded a victory in the semi-final round over Djokovic at Roland Garros (2025) and Wimbledon (2025).
The English, Chinese, Japanese, Arabic, and French versions are automatically generated by the AI. So there may still be inaccuracies in translating, please always see Indonesian as our main language. (system supported by DigitalSiber.id)
