Twenty-two-year-old American Ben Shelton is into the semifinals of the Australian Open, surviving Italian Lorenzo Sonego 6-4, 7-5, 4-6, 7-6(4).
It is Shelton’s second time to reach the semifinals of a major, also reaching the US Open in 2023.
Shelton, a lefty, has a ferocious serve and forehand and a lot of confidence and hustle.
He is the only lefthander to reach the semifinals from the nineteen who began the men’s singles draw this year. Rafael Nadal, who won the title in 2009 and 2022, is the last lefthander to win the title.
In the first set, Shelton broke at 3-all, and in the second set, he got the break at 4-all. The American has great variety with his serve, mixing up his speeds and spins, and he often left Sonego befuddled on the return.
Imago
At 5-4, though, Sonego played a brilliant game and broke at fifteen. It felt like the Italian was finding his form, and the crowd came alive.
Shelton got the break right back, though, with a crosscourt pass and a missed forehand long by Sonego, and then was able to serve out the set with a forehand down-the-line winner and his always reliable overhead.
In the third set, Sonego found his groove. The Italian, who plays similarly to Shelton with a big serve and forehand, unleashed his creative variety, often deploying the serve & volley and dropshot. At 5-4, the Italian broke the American.
The fourth set was a battle with both players holding serve. In the tiebreak, Shelton got both points on Sonego’s serve for 3-2. Sonego then hit a smash for 3-all. Shelton countered with a big forehand winner, but on the next point, he fell stretching for a shot. He recovered well—with a push-up and a smile—and then hit a fantastic second serve and crushing forehand inside-out for the win.
For the match, Shelton struck 9 aces and three double faults, while Sonego struck four aces and one double fault.
The American hit 54 winners and 33 unforced errors. The Italian hit 63 winners and 55 unforced errors.
In his on-court interview, Shelton said: “I feel relieved right now, shoutout to Lorenzo Sonego because that was some ridiculous tennis.
“I’m just really happy to be through, to get my first win on Rod Laver Arena. Thanks everybody for coming out, it was one of my favorite matches of my career.”
Next up for Shelton is top seed and defending champion Jannik Sinner, who beat home hope Alex de Minaur in routine fashion: 6-3, 6-2, 6-1.
