Sinner unstoppable: De Minaur defeated, now Shelton in the semi-finals at the Australian Open

Melbourne, January 22 – Not a formality – a quarter-final match in a Slam can never be – but the match between Jannik Sinner ed Alex De Minaur It was certainly a monologue from the world number one, who flies to the semifinals at the Australian Open and confirms his status as favorite of a tournament that sees him aiming for a historic repeat. In a packed and cool Rod Laver Arena, with temperatures well below twenty degrees, the Rosso di Sesto immediately shifts into high gear and the home opponent can do very little. It ends 6-3, 6-2, 6-1 for the blue star, who always seemed in control, never in physical trouble as instead had happened against Rune in the round of XNUMX. Excellent news, because only the court could demonstrate the effective overcoming of the malaise. In the first partial, the decisive break comes in the fourth game. Previously, Jannik had perhaps missed a couple of backhands too many, but always maintaining control over his service games, with a very solid serve and evident mastery in prolonged exchanges. De Minaur, on the contrary, seemed to seek increasingly risky solutions, going beyond his limits, knowing full well that only in this way could he think of worrying the champion from Alto Adige. With today's match, they make it 10 wins to nil for the Italian.

even the second set opens with Sinner at full speed: the first break comes in the first game. Jannik then goes 2-0 also saving the first break point conceded in the match with a winning serve in the center. The second, which brings Jannik to 4-1, in the fourth game. Impressive cross-court forehand that gives no escape to the home athlete. Then the partial is brought home on autopilot and no more than 80 minutes have passed since the start of the match.

In the third set, the Red forces a bit with the backhand, but without ever letting the game slip away. Here too, the break is secured already in the first game, with the home crowd cheering on Alex, but understanding that the match has taken a single direction, which simply cannot be changed. In the third game, the second break, with the "Aussie" out of gear in trying to contain the power of ours. The champion from Sesto has no choice but to fly away calmly, with the third break to close: with an extra smile because having closed the matter so quickly, in less than two hours, also corresponds to a saving of physical and nervous energy. The 85% of points on his first serve, 80% with the second - and the first came in with 66% - the points on return four times higher than those of De Minaur, are numbers that tell a good story of the tennis lesson that took place on the Australian evening. And now the semifinal with Ben Shelton, the 22-year-old rising star of American tennis who eliminated Lorenzo Sonego in four sets in the quarterfinals and previously also Lorenzo Musetti. An opponent to be feared without a doubt – it is his second Slam semifinal after the 2023 US Open – but in the end Jannik has beaten him in four of the five head-to-head matches and prevailed in the last four. An even more encouraging fact: in the confrontations with the American left-handed player, gifted with a very consistent serve, Jannik has also won the last four tie-breaks. In the other semifinal, Djokovic against Zverev. But in the end, no one scares Jannik anymore.