Obviously too strong for De Minaur, the defending champion ended all suspense in the final set of this quarter-final with three breaks and the conversion of his second match point.
Ben Shelton qualified for his second Grand Slam semi-final
The American Ben Shelton (ATP 20) qualified on Wednesday for the second time in his young career for the semi-finals of a Grand Slam, thanks to his victory in the quarter-finals of the Australian Open against the Italian Lorenzo Sonego (ATP 55).
By dominating Sonego 6-4, 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (7/4) Wednesday on the court of the Rod Laver Arena, Shelton offered himself, at 22 years old, his second semi-final in major tournaments , after that of 2023 at the US Open. He then lost to the Serbian and future winner Novak Djokovic after a match in three sets 6-3, 6-2, 7-6 (7/4).
Australian Open: Joachim Gérard eliminated in the first round of the doubles, Jeline Vandromme advances to the quarterfinals
Sonego, 29, was playing his first Grand Slam quarter-final. Winner of the last duel against Shelton in the first round of Roland-Garros in 2023, he is now trailing 2-1 in his direct confrontations with the American left-hander, after having lost in 2022 in Cincinnati, already on hard court.
The Italian, however, offered a long resistance to Shelton, who took almost four hours to defeat him. After winning the first two sets 6-4 and 7-5, the American lost the third set 4-6 before winning in the tie-break 7-6 (7/4).
Tuesday, the German Alexander Zverev (2nd) and the Serbian Novak Djokovic (7th), who will face each other in the semi-finals, were the first to qualify for the last four in the men’s draw.
WOMEN’S CHART
The rounds follow one another and are similar for Iga Swiatek: systematically winning in two sets of her matches since the start of the tournament, the Pole continued her momentum in the quarter-finals against the American Emma Navarro, a specialist in marathon matches , defeated 6-1, 6-2.
-After flying through the first set, Swiatek had to work harder in the second, helped by a little success in the fifth game to stay in control.
“It was much more difficult than the score suggests,” commented the Pole. “Emma is a fighter. I’m happy to have won these close games, that’s what made the difference,” she said.
Australian Open – This player wants to beat the Indian sign: ‘I’m working to be like Djokovic, Alcaraz and Sinner’
The Pole reached the final four in Melbourne for the second time in her career, three years after her first semi-final. Being back at this level is “great”, but “I will fight to go further”, warned the Pole.
She will be opposed to the American Madison Keys, who qualified for the last four of the Australian Open by beating the Ukrainian Elina Svitolina (27th) earlier in the day.
The 2017 US Open finalist, now a three-time semi-finalist in Melbourne (2015, 2022, 2025), won 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 in just under two hours, facing a player she beat four times in six duels.
After losing the first set, “I felt like I had to play a little more aggressively. She was controlling a lot of points and making me run,” Keys said after her victory. “Luckily, I managed it. I think I play a little more intelligently” than in 2015, the year of her first semi-final, she concluded.
Australian Open – Close to retirement a year ago, she achieves the greatest feat of her career: “My back no longer responded properly”
