Jannik Sinner is beaming: He is moving into the next round of Wimbledon. © APA/afp / ANDREJ ISAKOVIC

With a show performance: Sinner storms into the quarter-finals

On Sunday, Jannik Sinner impressively and spectacularly underlined his claim to the most important tournament victory in international tennis. He is in the quarterfinals at Wimbledon for the third time in a row.

July 07, 2024

From: fop

Jannik Sinner has defeated the exceptional talent Ben Shelton 6:2, 6:4, 7:6, meaning he is now in the third-to-last round at Wimbledon. The 22-year-old from Sexten played powerful, highly concentrated tennis for a good two hours against the US boy, who is one year younger and ranked 14th in the world, including a little show effect.

It was 17.39pm local time when thousands of spectators on Court 1 of the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club cheered loudly and clapped wildly. Shelton had just fired a hard baseline shot at Sinner when Sinner reacted quickly, pulled his feet apart and sent the ball behind his back and through his own legs back over the edge of the net. Sinner then used the next touch of the ball to bag the point and the game at 5:5 with a brilliant cross shot.

This show was not only a real feast for the eyes for the fans in the stands, but also a key moment in the match. Shelton was in his best phase at the time and was pushing for the first set win. Instead, Sinner saved himself a little later in the tiebreak and ultimately won it - just like all eight (!) additional games in the previous matches. After fending off several set balls, Sinner won the tiebreak 11:9. So it was game, set, match!

Sinner rewarded himself for a performance that was almost perfect for a long time. The world number one played flawlessly until well into the second set. He saw through his opponent's serve, returned with incredible force and constantly put his rival under pressure. The latter appeared to be helpless.

Shelton was not only completely overwhelmed, but also knocked out. He played five sets in each of the first three matches. The American has not had a day off since the tournament began, as his matches were interrupted by rain or darkness. And yet he suddenly found his way into the game better towards the end of the second set. Sinner won the round 6:4, but the tension was high after that.

However, some over-the-top shots and one or two unforced errors from Shelton, Sinner's strong nerves and the spectacular performance towards the end of the third set led to the favorite's safe victory in the end.

Now against Medvedev

This was Sinner's third success in the fourth talent duel with Shelton, all of which have taken place over the past nine months. Another familiar face awaits the South Tyrolean in the quarterfinals. On Tuesday he will face Daniil Medvedev (ATP 5) for the twelfth time. The former US Open winner won the first six of the previous encounters, while Sinner won the last five. Medvedev benefited on Sunday from the injury-related retirement of Grigor Dimitrov (ATP 10), who was unable to continue when the Russian was leading 5:3.