WimbledonTop seed to face Djokovic or countryman Cobolli for final spot
July 09, 2025
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Jannik Sinner defeats Ben Shelton in straight sets on Wednesday at Wimbledon to reach the semi-finals. By Andy West
Jannik Sinner shook off pre-match injury fears to deliver a statement quarter-final victory against Ben Shelton on Wednesday afternoon at Wimbledon.
The No. 1 player in the PIF ATP Rankings produced a trademark rock-solid display to down Shelton 7-6(2), 6-4, 6-4 and reach the last four at the grass major for the second time. Sinner, who sustained an elbow injury and fell to a two-sets deficit before Grigor Dimitrov retired from the pair’s fourth-round clash, quickly eased any fears of serious damage to his arm by nullifying Shelton’s power across two hours and 19 minutes on No. 1 Court.
“I’m very, very happy about today’s performance,” said Sinner in his on-court interview. “Playing against him is so difficult. You have chances and then he serves very well, as we saw in the last game. Overall, we play each other more and more, we got to know each other a little bit better, and I’m looking forward to these kinds of battles.”
Forza Jannik 🔥@janniksin is into the Wimbledon?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw” rel=”noopener noreferrer” target=”_blank”>@Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/9qibVDDcMy
— ATP Tour (@atptour) July 9, 2025
Wearing a white sleeve on his right arm for the first meeting between Top 10 players at 2025 Wimbledon, Sinner reeled off seven straight points to clinch the opening-set tie-break, before earning the only break of serve in the second and third to complete his win. It was a sixth consecutive victory for the Italian in his Lexus ATP Head2Head series with Shelton.
“When you are in a match with a lot of tension, you try to not think about it,” said Sinner, who only practised for a short stint indoors on Tuesday, when asked about how his arm had held up against Shelton. “It has improved a lot from yesterday to today.
“Yesterday my day was very short on the practice court, 20 minutes with the coaches only. But I [was] looking forward to [the match]. This is no excuse. There is no better stage to play tennis, and I think I showed this today.”
Now 24-3 for the 2025 season, Australian Open champion Sinner will take on seven-time Wimbledon titlist Novak Djokovic or Flavio Cobolli in Friday’s semi-finals. Should Cobolli oust Djokovic in Wednesday’s other quarter-final clash, it will mark the first time that multiple Italians have reached the men’s singles semi-finals at Wimbledon.
Shelton was on the brink of posting an immediate reply to dropping the first set when he carved out the first break points of the match at 15/40 in the first game of the second, but Sinner quickly raised his level to fend them off. The Italian moved well on the No. 1 Court grass throughout the encounter, and despite the sleeve on his arm appeared to hit with typical power on serve and off both wings.
Sinner exerted pressure on the Shelton serve at 5-4 in both the second and third sets, and on both occasions he broke through successfully. Although the American saved two match points in the final game, he was unable to deny his opponent victory on a third.
Even against a big-serving opponent like Shelton, Sinner finished the match with superior numbers on both first and second serve. The top seed won 89 per cent (50/56) of points behind his first delivery, compared to Shelton’s 80 per cent (48/60).
Sinner will now prepare for his second Wimbledon semi-final after he fell to Djokovic at the same stage in 2023. Since then, the Italian has become a standout World No. 1 and a three-time Grand Slam champion.
“I remember the first time playing on Centre Court. I remember my first time playing semi-finals here, and it’s very special,” recalled Sinner, when asked how he had changed since 2023. “I’m of course looking forward to it, but on the other hand, especially when you are young — 20, 22, 23, 24 — one year makes such a difference because you get to big stages more and get used to it.
“Obviously it feels amazing. Wimbledon is the most special tournament we have throughout the calendar. Being here again at the last four means a lot to me and hopefully it’s going to be a good match.”
