Armed with one of the best serves in men’s tennis, the 22-year-old Shelton battled through numerous four-setters to make it into the second week; he won a fourth-set tiebreaker against Lorenzo Sonego to book his ticket against Sinner, whom he’d beaten once in five attempts (2023 Rolex Shanghai Masters).
Sinner hasn’t dropped a set to Shelton since that initial loss, but found himself on the back foot early on under the lights in the opening set. The two exchanged breaks in the first four games but a late break from Shelton threatened to break the match wide open.
The top-ranked Sinner, who dropped just two sets in his first five matches, saved two set points to break Shelton’s serve and race through the subsequent tiebreaker, taking a 5-0 lead before serving it out at his first opportunity.
Sinner kept up the momentum in the second set, breaking Shelton twice to put himself in touching distance of the final as Shelton spent the break getting a rubdown from the trainer.
