Defending champion Jannik Sinner will face Alexander Zverev for this year’s Australian Open crown, while injured 10-time champion Novak Djokovic’s immediate future is up in the air.
Defending champion Jannik Sinner will face Alexander Zverev for this year’s Australian Open crown, while injured 10-time champion Novak Djokovic’s immediate future is up in the air.
At least Shelton won’t get bagelled [beaten 6-0].
The American has held serve and made it 4-1.
But now Sinner is serving for a 5-1 lead.
Italian fans are out in force at Melbourne Park and for good reason. Sinner is marching towards another final.
The change to allow fans in at the end of every game has been a good call, but there are people literally walking down the stairs mid-point. The tournament has lost control of the situation.
Shelton is going to blink and find himself two sets down at this rate as Sinner again breaks his serve.
The commentators have noticed Sinner is breathing very heavily between points but he is still dominating the points.
Sinner leads 7-6, 3-0 and will serve next.
Sinner had to battle but he is 2-0 up in the second set.
He coughed up a break point and was lucky Shelton couldn’t finish him off.
The young American could well have some regrets after this match.
It’s a boys’ night out for star Collingwood siblings and newly announced ambassadors for skincare brand Cetaphil, Josh and Nick Daicos.
The pair are as close to the action as spectators can get in the front row of the ultra-pricey Piper-Heidsieck courtside seats.
Joining the brothers in the Piper seats is actor and comedian Magda Szubanski. Also spotted in the crowd is cook book author and Good Food columnist Emelia Jackson in Marriott Bonvoy’s seats, and influencer Sarah Davidson, who swapped tips and anecdotes about their babies.
Sinner is off to a flying start in the second set with a break of Shelton in the first game.
This is a huge let down for Shelton as he could have kept scoreboard pressure on Sinner, now he has to try and get a break against the Italian champion.
Sinner leads 7-6, 1-0.
Ben Shelton has a decision to make.
His aggressive play earned him chances in that first set – along with some uncharacteristic waywardness from Sinner – but 27 unforced errors is an extraordinary number.
Five of those came in the tie-break, so Shelton will have to tighten things whatever the approach is from here.
Sinner has won the first set in a tie-break and he had to ride his luck to do it.
Shelton was miles away in the early points of the tie-break and finished the job to take the first set 7-6 (7-2).
“He’s let Sinner off the hook here late in the set,” Lleyton Hewitt said on Nine of Shelton.
Shelton had gone to pieces in this tie-break.
He is clearly hurting after missing out on two set points.
He has made some bad errors. Sinner leads 4-0.