Aurélie Sacchelli, Media365, published on Friday January 24, 2025 at 12:31 p.m.
Jannik Sinner, world No. 1 and defending champion, qualified for the final of the Australian Open by defeating Ben Shelton in three sets. The Italian will face Alexander Zverev on Sunday.
It will therefore be a final between the number 1 and number 2 seeds! Sunday, the final of the Australian Open will pit Jannik Sinner against Alexander Zverev, after the qualification of the Italian, defending champion, to the detriment of Ben Shelton. As against Alex De Minaur in the semi-final, he only needed three sets to get through this round, winning 7-6, 6-2, 6-2 after 2h36 of play. For his second Grand Slam semi-final (after that of the US Open 2023 lost against Djokovic), the 22-year-old American was no match, even if the first set may leave him with regrets. The world No. 20 had lost his last four matches against the No. 1, including three last year without taking a set. And the scenario was identical this Friday, notably due to his 55 unforced errors, compared to only 26 for his opponent.
-Shelton had two first set points
In the first set, however, it was he who broke first, from the start. But Sinner managed to get back together almost immediately, at 2-2. Shelton then had to save two balls at 4-2, but it was he who signed the break at 5-5. The American, on his throw-in, then obtained two set points, but he missed them. The world No. 1 managed to break the break and push his opponent into a tie-break. A decisive game in which Shelton did not exist. Sinner quickly led 5-0 and then won 7-2. The Italian didn't know it yet, but the hardest part was done for him. In the second set, he won the first four games (despite a 1-1 ball to defend) and flew into the set. After missing a first set point at 5-1 on Shelton's serve, he did not miss the second, at 5-2, concluding with a shutout. In the third set, Shelton got two 3-1 balls, but it was he who broke again. Sinner managed to equalize at 2-2, and won the next four games, against his young opponent who had then given up.
Zverev leads 4-2 against Sinner
Ben Shelton will not play the first Grand Slam final of his career, but will climb to 14th world rank on Monday. As for Sinner, he will play his third final in a Major, like his opponent on Sunday, Alexander Zverev. But unlike the German, he won the previous two (Australian Open and US Open 2024). The world No. 2 will, however, leave with the psychological advantage of having beaten the No. 1 four out of six times. Winner of their first (Roland-Garros 2020) and last (Cincinnati 2024) confrontation, Jannik Sinner lost the other four (Cologne 2020, US Open 2021 and 2023, Monte-Carlo 2022). But Sinner did not yet dominate world tennis as he has dominated it for a year.
