Jannik Sinner downs Ben Shelton, into Australian Open final

Jannik Sinner stormed into his third straight hard-court major final, downing Ben Shelton, 7-6 (2), 6-2, 6-2 at the 2025 Australian Open in the semifinals.

The world No. 1, who swept both Australian and US Open titles in 2024, has now won his last 20 hard-court Grand Slam matches and will now face world No. 2 Alexander Zverev in the championship match after shaking off cramps to ultimately blitz the No. 21-seeded American in two hours and 36 minutes on Rod Laver Arena. Sinner is now a win away from becoming the first man to defend his maiden major title since Rafael Nadal won his first two Roland Garros titles in 2005 and 2006.

Zverev was first into the finals when 10-time champion Novak Djokovic was forced to retire a set into their semifinal meeting earlier on Friday.

Sinner and Shelton headlined the night session for what promised to be an intriguing clash between the defending champion and a fast-rising American star, one who was playing his second major semifinal in 18 months after breaking through to reach the last four of the 2023 US Open.

Armed with one of the best serves in men’s tennis, the 22-year-old Shelton battled through numerous four-setters to make it into the second week; he won a fourth-set tiebreaker against Lorenzo Sonego to book his ticket against Sinner, whom he’d beaten once in five attempts (2023 Rolex Shanghai Masters).

Sinner hasn’t dropped a set to Shelton since that initial loss, but found himself on the back foot early on under the lights in the opening set. The two exchanged breaks in the first four games but a late break from Shelton threatened to break the match wide open.

The top-ranked Sinner, who dropped just two sets in his first five matches, saved two set points to break Shelton’s serve and race through the subsequent tiebreaker, taking a 5-0 lead before serving it out at his first opportunity.

Sinner kept up the momentum in the second set, breaking Shelton twice to put himself in touching distance of the final as Shelton spent the break getting a rubdown from the trainer.

Shelton nonetheless made a push early in the third set as he looked to get a break of Sinner’s serve. Sinner responded in inimitable fashion, saving three break points in his first two service games. He turned the tables on Shelton in the fifth game, drawing the American into a long battle before scoring a break of his own, Shelton throwing his racquet in disgust.

Sinner took a brief injury break of his own after landing hard from a high backhand, but upped his aggression after the timeout, overwhelming Shelton with a barrage of big shots. With the finish line in sight, he raced through eight straight points to move within a game of victory.

Digging out of a 15-30 deficit in the final game, Sinner clinched victory with a pair of strong serves and is into his third major final (2-0).

Sinner will next face Zverev, who leads their head-to-head 4-2 but Sinner won their most recent match last summer on hard courts at the Cincinnati Open.