Notebook 11 – Sinner accelerates and does damage, Shelton in the final four, a missed opportunity for Sonego and a question: but who will stop Swiatek? – rts.ch

STEEL SINNER The dizziness of Monday was followed by the confidence and big hits of Friday. A quarter-final is not often the mirror of an 8th and Jannik Sinner demonstrated it with very high quality tennis in front of a totally lost and swept away Alex De Minaur (6-3 6-2 6-1) on Rod Laver Arena. Without an ounce of pity, the Italian crushed the Australian in 3 short rounds and less than 2 hours. We could almost say that it was a recital, but the 8th in the world was far too far than his ranking indicates for us to be able to praise the title holder to this extent. Sinner will have had a double merit with this match: to reassure himself like never before before fighting on Friday with Ben Shelton and not to waste too much energy while two big matches still await him (Djokovic on Sunday?) if he intends to do double blow in Melbourne.

OF MINAUR AND DOUBT We don’t want to be mean to Alex De Minaur, 8th in the world, but the impression that has been made with him for months and months was reinforced today by his non-performance in the quarter-final. Never, 5 or 6 years ago, would a player of his level have forced the door to the top-10 in the world. There was a time when Federer, Nadal, Djokovic, Murray, Wawrinka, Cilic, Del Potro, Nishikori, Berdych, Raonic, Tsonga, Dimitrov, Isner, Zverev, Thiem and others existed, the De Minaur of today n wouldn’t have had a chance. Proof without doubt that the overall level of the top-15 has crumbled.

OH NO SONEGO Melbourne will not be entitled to its Italian derby in the semi-final, since Lorenzo Sonego bowed to Ben Shelton (6-4 7-5 4-6 7-6). The outcome of this match, which was sometimes great to follow, is not a surprise, but the Turin player has the right to have big regrets, as there seemed to be room to do better, much better. On the one hand because his level of play increased throughout the match and, on the other hand, because the American was not an oversized opponent for Sonego. The latter, who was playing his first quarter-final in a Grand Slam, was just abandoned by lucidity on the important points, failing to tighten the game at the end of sets 1 and 2 and arming 2 direct errors in a row while he had the advantage in the tie-break in the 4th set. Too bad because his performance was overall top-notch.

BELLE PROGRESSION Ranked 55th in the world before this tournament, Lorenzo Sonego (29 years old) will return to Europe with the best performance of his “major” career in his baggage (although he has not beaten a single member of the top- 50) and a jump of 20 places in the hierarchy (35th). He who signed some anthology hits in this fortnight, still ahead of Shelton today, had not been so well ranked since June 2022, the start of his “fall” after reaching 21st place. Hopefully he continues!

SHELTON AT THE MEETING Because the Australian Open is the first tournament he has played outside the United States in his entire career, Ben Shelton has a special connection with Melbourne. And the American will certainly not see it crumble this year, since his route on the banks of the Yarra is idyllic. Nakashima, Carreno Busta, Musetti, Monfils and finally Sonego had to surrender in front of his left arm capable of unleashing hellish strikes in all positions. Quarter-finalist in Australia in 2023 and semi-finalist at the US Open the same year, Roger Federer’s “protege” (sponsor obliges) may be inconsistent, but he proves he knows how to be present during major events. His stats from this Wednesday attest to his progress.

L’ANECDOTE “HELVETIQUE” While his father Bryan had been at best 55th ATP, son Ben Shelton has already made more than a first name for himself. And for the anecdote, his father came to play a tournament in Bossonnens in 1989. After making it through the first round, he then withdrew before facing a certain Marc Rosset, then 19 years old. Time flies! And today, he’s the kid who comes to hit the ball in the region, at the Geneva Open.

SWIATEK “ON FIRE” 6-3 6-4 6-2 6-0 6-1 6-0 6-0 6-1 6-1 6-2. Iga Swiatek is on a cruise on the Yarra. The Pole can multiply the selfies for a leaflet in favor of the Melbourne Tourist Office and, at the little waves that could make her sway a little, she continues to slap. His journey in this 2025 edition is a walk in the park. Emma Navarro, “liquidated” 6-1 6-2 in the quarter-final, knows something about this. Against the no.2 WTA, the pace is untenable, the quality of the shots unfathomable. “Iga is ruthless“, lamented the American. “Emma is a fighter and this was much harder than the score suggests“, said Swiatek. Was it ironic?

KEYS, CHALLENGE MONSTERS We want to believe that after having shattered Elina Svitolina’s dream to sign her 10th victory in a row (3-6 6-3 6-4), Madison Keys will have sufficient fangs and enough heart this Friday to worry Iga Swiatek, both for the beauty of the tournament and for the suspense. But the American only beat the Pole once in 5 attempts. It was in Cincinnati, in 2022 (6-3 6-4). A painful memory for the No. 2 WTA. “She had killed me“, she recalled this morning on the court. But since she herself has knocked out everyone so far, it’s Keys who should be trembling.

Arnaud Cerutti