Shelton Overcomes Sonego To Reach Australian Open Semifinals
Ben Shelton is back into the semifinals of a major after ousting Italy’s Lorenzo Sonego 6-4, 7-5, 4-6, 7-6(4) on Wednesday to reach the final four of the Australian Open.
“I feel relieved right now, shout out to Lorenzo Sonego because that was some ridiculous tennis,” said Shelton. “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.”
Shelton’s previous semifinal run at a Grand Slam came at the 2023 U.S. Open when he lost to eventual champion Novak Djokovic.
In this semifinal, he will face off against top-seed Jannik Sinner, who defeated Australia’s Alex de Minaur 6-3, 6-2, 6-1 in the other quarterfinal on Wednesday.
A key moment in Shelton’s triumph over Sonego was in the sixth game of the fourth set. After going ahead by an early break, Shelton saved the only break point he faced in the frame to keep the set on serve.
Eventually heading into a tiebreaker, Shelton was able to outplay his opponent from the baseline, capping off the win with a inside-out forehand winner.
The other semifinal on the men’s side will see Novak Djokovic take on Alexander Zverev.
