Ben Shelton reached the semifinals at the 2025 Australian Open, showing the whole world all his progress with a series of great performances in the last ten days. The American ace plays his best tennis on these courts and from the first round had promised that he would achieve a prestigious result in the first Grand Slam of the new season.
ADVERTISEMENT
After battles against Lorenzo Musetti and Gael Monfils, Ben scored another very important victory against Lorenzo Sonego. The Italian ace played an excellent match taking advantage of the fact that he had nothing to lose, being his first appearance in the quarterfinals of a Major tournament.
Shelton won the first two sets, before suffering a drop in the third set that allowed Sonego to shorten the distance. However, the American's mental strength improved a lot and it was precisely this element that made the difference in Ben's favor in the crucial phases of the fourth set.
Shelton will face another Italian
During today's match, the current world number 20 unintentionally hit the chair umpire twice, creating a very funny scene.
The young American champion has always remained focused on the challenge and has no intention of settling for this semifinal.
Interviewed by the Italian media, Sonego admitted that Shelton has made a lot of progress in the recent period: "He has grown a lot compared to the first time we faced each other in Paris. His serve is further improved and so is his forehand. Today he didn't make many unforced mistakes and showed that he is a great player with a lot of self-confidence."
ADVERTISEMENT
Ben's next opponent will be another Italian player, the current world number 1 Jannik Sinner. The 2-time Grand Slam champion will certainly be favored on Friday, but Shelton has the right skills to create problems for him on this surface.
Ben defeated Jannik in their first official match at the 2023 Rolex Shanghai Masters, but he did not win a single set in the next four clashes.
