Jannik Sinner produced an extraordinary performance on Wednesday, outclassing local talent Alex de Minaur with a crushing 3-0 victory in the quarter-finals of the Australian Open. The match ended with scores of 6-3, 6-2 and 6-1, lasting just 1 hour and 48 minutes in Melbourne. Thanks to this victory, Sinner prepares to face in the semi-final the American Ben Shelton, who beat Lorenzo Sonego, the same player who eliminated the Brazilian João Fonseca in the second round.
This victory marks Sinner’s 19th consecutive success on the circuit, the 23-year-old Italian remaining undefeated since the beginning of October. He is on a good run with three consecutive titles, including one with his national team in the Davis Cup. This semi-final will be Sinner’s fifth appearance at the Grand Slam level in his career.
Wednesday’s match was the fastest for the world number one in this first Grand Slam competition of the year. Sinner showed almost perfect tennis, dominating De Minaur from the first games with a multitude of powerful and precise shots. With this triumph, he is one step away from winning his second Australian Open title.
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The contrast with Sinner’s previous match against Denmark’s Holger Rune in the round of 16 is striking, the latter lasting 3 hours and 13 minutes. This match required medical time and presented some worrying moments for Sinner, who struggled with the heat, even showing visible tremors. He chose not to address these issues in the post-match interview.
Without physical problems this time, Sinner recorded his 10th victory against De Minaur, who has yet to beat the Italian in their clashes. Despite a less stellar service performance, Sinner did not lose his serve at any time during the match and was only faced with one break point, which he saved. Meanwhile, he constantly put De Minaur’s serve under pressure, converting five of his eight break opportunities.
-The player at the top of the rankings also recorded 27 winners compared to 10 for De Minaur and committed only 19 unforced errors compared to 26 for the Australian, who had his best Grand Slam performance.
Sinner’s next opponent in the semifinals will be Ben Shelton, ranked 20th in the world. Shelton earned his place in the final four by defeating Lorenzo Sonego 3-1, with scores of 6-4, 7-5, 4-6 and 7-6 (7-4). The victory ties Shelton’s best Grand Slam performance, having already reached the semi-finals at the 2023 US Open.
In the women’s draw, second-ranked Iga Swiatek of Poland continued her dominant form on Wednesday, aiming for her first title in Melbourne. The former world number one eliminated eighth-ranked American Emma Navarro with a 2-0 victory, with scores of 6-1, 6-2. Remarkably, Swiatek has yet to lose a set in this tournament.
With this result, Swiatek equals her best performance at the Australian Open, having reached the semi-finals for the first time in 2022. To secure a place in the final, she will have to face American Madison Keys, ranked 14th in the world, who triumphed over the Ukrainian Elina Svitolina with a score of 3-6, 6-3, 6-4.
This upcoming match will be their sixth meeting, with Swiatek leading their head-to-head with four wins from five previous meetings. If she wins this time and reaches the final, Swiatek will have the opportunity to compete for the title and potentially reclaim the world number one spot against Aryna Sabalenka, who has already qualified for the semi-finals against Spain’s Paula Badosa.
