Jannik Sinner brushed aside injury concerns to defeat Ben Shelton in straight sets on Wednesday, booking his place in the Wimbledon semi-finals with a 7-6(7/2), 6-4, 6-4 victory.
The Italian top seed, who wore a protective sleeve on his right arm, showed little sign of discomfort despite suffering a minor injury scare in his fourth-round clash against Grigor Dimitrov. The match against Shelton lasted two hours and 19 minutes on Court One.
“You know, when you are in a match with a lot of tension, you try not to think about it,” Sinner said afterwards. “It has improved a lot from yesterday to today. Yesterday, I only practised for 20 minutes.”
Sinner grimaced at times, particularly after returning one of Shelton’s powerful serves in the second set, but the 23-year-old remained composed and clinical throughout the match.
The world number one, who has never reached the Wimbledon final, is now the first Italian man to reach multiple semi-finals at the All England Club, following his breakthrough in 2023. He will face either Novak Djokovic or Flavio Cobolli in Friday’s semi-final.
Sinner, a three-time Grand Slam champion, came into the tournament in strong form, having reached the finals of the French Open in June. He looked revitalised in the early rounds at Wimbledon, conceding just 17 games in his first three matches—a record matched only once in the Open Era.
Shelton, seeded 10th, had a spirited campaign, going one round further than his father and coach, Bryan Shelton, did 31 years ago. However, the 22-year-old struggled physically, needing his left ankle re-taped during the first set.
The opening set was tightly contested, lasting 52 minutes and decided in a tiebreak that Sinner controlled. The Italian then broke Shelton in the 10th game of the second set and repeated the feat in the final game of the third.
Sinner closed out the match on his third match point when Shelton sent a return long, sealing a confident win and another step toward his first Wimbledon final.
