ATP Tour

Shelton on Sinner: 'Never seen anything like it'

Jannik Sinner has proven to be Ben Shelton’s kryptonite, winning six consecutive matches against the American following his straight-sets victory in the Wimbledon quarter-finals Wednesday. According to Shelton, there is something in the Italian’s game that has proven difficult to overcome.

“His ball speed is really high. Never seen anything like it. You don't see anything like it when you're going through the draw,” Shelton said. “When you play him, it's almost like things are in [two times] speed. I'm usually pretty good at adjusting to that speed.

“It’s difficult when a guy's hitting the ball that big, that consistently off both wings, and serving the way he is.”

The 10th seed believes he “had the right idea” against Sinner and went for his serve, which is one of the most dangerous deliveries on the ATP Tour. But in the key moments, he was unable to land his huge first serve and from the ground he was “too tentative”.

One thing that did not take Shelton by surprise was Sinner’s level. There was concern ahead of the match for the Italian, who hurt his elbow during his fourth-round match against Grigor Dimitrov. But despite wearing an arm sleeve, the No. 1 player in the PIF ATP Rankings showed no ill effects.

“I thought he would be fine,” Shelton said of Sinner, who now leads their Lexus ATP Head2Head series 6-1. “You can't go into a match thinking that the guy's not going to be at 100 per cent. His ball was coming off pretty big today, so I didn't see any difference.”

Forza Jannik 🔥@janniksin is into the #Wimbledon semi-finals with a 7-6 6-4 6-4 win over Shelton.@Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/9qibVDDcMy

— ATP Tour (@atptour) July 9, 2025

While Sinner continues his chase for a maiden Wimbledon title, Shelton will return to the practice court to hone his game for the North American hard-court summer. “[In] those crucial moments he outplayed me today,” Shelton admitted.

As much as the former college standout at the University of Florida wishes he could have continued his pursuit of Grand Slam glory, there are plenty of positives for Shelton to look back on.

The 22-year-old has now made at least the quarter-finals at three of the four majors, and in six of his 12 Slam appearances, Shelton has advanced to the second week. That is not the end goal, though.

“I could sit there and be like, ‘Wow, 22 years old and I've been able to do these things and achieve these things’. But my mind is, I don't know, critical. I'm a critical thinker. I'm trying to solve problems,” Shelton said. “I know that I'm not where I want to be. That's kind of what I'm focusing on.

“Obviously being closer and being in the later stages makes you even more hungry and makes you feel like you can do it and you can break through.”