Defending champion Jannik Sinner will face Ben Shelton in the Australian Open semi-finals

MELBOURNE, Australia — Ben Shelton’s Australian Open quarterfinal foe Lorenzo Sonego produced the shot of the tournament — diving to his left after a volley with so much spin that the ball bounced on one side of the net and then floated back over to the other. – but it was the American who ended up with the victory on Wednesday.

The left-handed Shelton did something entertaining for himself, including earning cheers by doing a pair of push-ups after tumbling in the final tiebreaker, and he reached his second Grand Slam semifinal at the age of 22 by beating the unseeded Sonego 6-4, 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (4).

“I’m relieved,” said Shelton, who faces No. 1 Jannik Sinner from Italy on Friday for a place in the final. “Shout out to Lorenzo Sonego because that was some ridiculous tennis.”

Sinner, the defending champion at Melbourne Park, completely overwhelmed the final Australian in the men’s bracket, No. 8 Alex de Minaur, 6-3, 6-2, 6-1 on the night.

“It’s been too many times to play him and see the same thing. So I’m not even surprised anymore when I face him,” said de Minaur, who is now 0-10 against Sinner during their career. Fights like these happen.”

Sinner looked and played much better than he did – hand shaking, head dizzy – during a four-set match against Holger Rune in the fourth round. After giving himself a break on Tuesday, sleeping in and only hitting the court for about 30 or 40 minutes, Sinner said his body was much better.

“It was definitely (my) best match of the tournament so far,” said Sinner, who extended his unbeaten streak to 19 matches dating back to last season.

Shelton, seeded 21st, closed out the first set against Sonego with a 144 mph (232 km/h) ace that was tied for the fastest serve over the last 1 1/2 weeks and bent his left arm after hitting a powerful forehand to close a 22-break point and earn a break in the second. His father Bryan, a former tour pro who is Ben’s coach, also laughed as he patted his own right bicep.

A few points from the end, Shelton sprinted to get his racquet on a seemingly unreachable ball, falling into a billboard on the court as Sonego hit an easy winner to take the point.

Shelton stayed on the ground for a while, then received applause for his efforts — and practices after the fall.

When Shelton closed things out with a 26th forehand winner – he had zero via backhands – he bowed again and scoffed until his expression turned into a smile.

In his press conference, Shelton offered some unsolicited comments that were critical of some of the people handling the on-field interviews after the game.

As good as Shelton is with his serves and forehands, his improved return game is a major part of what led him to the last four at the Australian Open for the first time.

He did just enough in that department, accumulating 11 break points and converting three against Sonego, an Italian ranked 55th. Shelton entered the match coming through on 52% of his break chances, the highest rate among the eight men’s quarterfinalists.

Shelton lost to Novak Djokovic in the 2023 US Open semifinals.

The other semi-final will be Djokovic vs. no. 2 Alexander Zverev. Djokovic continued his pursuit of an 11th Australian Open title and an unprecedented 25th major trophy by overcoming a leg injury and Carlos Alcaraz 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-4 in a quarter-final that began on Tuesday evening and ended at almost 1 o’clock Wednesday.

The women’s semi-finals on Thursday night are no. 1 Aryna Sabalenka, the tournament winner in each of the last two years, against no. 11 Paula Badosa, and no. 2 Iga Swiatek against no. 19 Madison Keys.

The crowd factor was high for Shelton vs. Sonego, who had never made it this far at a major before.

Sonego went 67-for-90 on trips to the net, and his highlight reel volley came at the beginning of the second set. It was so remarkable that Shelton acknowledged the effort by offering a congratulatory handshake.

There was another great shot by Sonego in the fourth set when he ran with his back to the net and spun to hit a hook of sorts that resulted in a winner.

However, it is Shelton who will continue to play in Melbourne this year.