With rain on and off all day—British summertime—the roof was closed on No. 1 Court where the world No. 1 Jannik Sinner defeated world No. 14 Ben Shelton in straight sets, 6-2, 6-4, 7-6(9), to reach the quarterfinals of Wimbledon.
In his post-match press conference, Shelton said: “I thought I came out slow, and my feet weren’t firing the way that I wanted them to. I was losing a lot of the baseline rallies.
“By the time I got halfway through the second set and then into the third set that started to flip, and a lot of the long rallies I was starting to win. I was feeling good, moving, playing points comfortable out there on the court.
“That third set came down to half an inch here, half an inch there. I had four set points. One on my serve. The other three were all on my racquet. So, I think that there’s a lot of positives to take away, but it’s a sport of small margins.”
Shelton, a lefty, serves with tremendous power and spin. In the match, he hit 15 aces and four double faults.
(John Walton/PA)
Sinner serves more accurately. In the match, he hit seven aces and no double faults.
Sinner seemed to read Shelton’s serve really well, so much that Shelton may have panicked because Sinner got back his thunderous serves so many times.
In his post-match press conference, Sinner said: “Well, against big servers sometimes you have to guess, especially in important moments. Tiebreak was tough ’cause I was up 5-2, 5-3. I was ready, I missed a shot. I was 5-6 down. Some momentum change, a small one. But I could lose the third set and then everything can happen on fourth and fifth potentially.
“I’m happy how I handled the situation. It was obviously very, very tough to play against him, one of the best servers we have on tour, very aggressive player.
“I’m happy how I returned today. Yeah, I think that’s for sure one of the keys today.”
Watching the match, it never felt like Sinner was in much danger. Even if he had lost the third set, it felt like he could just raise his level again and win the fourth.
Sinner is a more balanced player than Shelton. His technical skills are better. His head stays very still, even when putting the ball in the corners.
At times, you would see Shelton unsteady, falling backwards when he was late on his forehand. Though when he had time and hit through the ball, it was a big winner. Shelton’s backhand, straight and compact, worked well on the grass.
Next up for Sinner is Daniil Medvedev, the fifth seed.
Sinner said that he practiced with Medvedev earlier in the week. “He was playing really good. So, it’s going to be tough. I’m looking forward to it. Again, it’s a big challenge for me.
“But this is what I practice for. Hopefully it’s going to be a good match.”
