Different year. Same story. But less damning.
Ben Shelton once again found himself on the losing side of Jannik Sinner at Rod Laver Arena on Wednesday night.
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A rematch of their Australian Open 2025 semifinal, the American slumped to his ninth-straight defeat against the world No.1 – all in straight sets – falling to the two-time defending champion in their quarterfinal 6-3 6-4 6-4.
Although the scoreline might have been relatively straightforward, it undersells the significant improvement Shelton has made in his game since his previous match against Sinner at Melbourne Park.
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Looking more lethal at the net and varying how he plays the point, Shelton progressed to the Sinner rematch with little to no fuss. It’s an improvement that even Sinner noticed, who, on match point, celebrated with relief.
“It’s very tough to play against Ben. He has a huge serve, and he’s improving so much year after year,” Sinner said about Shelton, whose fastest serve for the match was 232km/h.
“Especially after the off-season, you never know how certain players are going to play against you and how they have changed other things.”
In their AO 2025 semifinal, Shelton started strong, creating chances on his serve before fading away in the final two sets. On Wednesday night, the world No.7 was able to work his way into the battle and maintain his level.
Shelton clearly feels he has made progress since his last trip to Melbourne, learning more with each Sinner encounter.
“In terms of the evolution of my game, I'm a different player than I was 12 months ago,” he said.
“I felt like when I played Jannik here last year, the conditions were a lot better for me, and my level faded quickly in that match. The last two sets weren't contentious at all, even though I served for the first set.
“Jannik is a very tough out. I think that was one of the tough things that I dealt with today. I felt like, as well as I was hitting the ball, I couldn't get him out of his rhythm as much as I wanted to.”
Entering the 2025 season ranked world No.21, Shelton won 40 matches last year, including his first ATP Masters 1000 crown in Toronto, which helped the 23-year-old finish the year inside the top 10 for the first time.
Combining all he learned in 2025 with the work he put in over the off-season, Shelton believes that he is getting closer to perfecting his game. His greatest challenge stands in the form of the ‘Sincaraz’ duopoly, who he’s bowed out to in five of his past seven Grand Slams.
“I think my level is better, and I'm getting better and better and becoming a lot less limited,” he said.
“I think this game takes time, and the results don't always come when you want them.
“I'm getting to the point now where I'm getting stopped up by the toughest challenge in the game for the most part, and I do think that I'm close to bringing it all together.
“I’m not complete yet, but I feel myself becoming more complete.”