Jannik Sinner got his revenge from his meeting with Ben Shelton last year to advance to the quarter-finals at the 2024 Rolex Shanghai Masters on Wednesday.
The 23-year-old Italian and World’s top ranked player scored a 6-4, 7-6(1) win in an entertaining match full of electric shotmaking, improving to 4-1 in the pair’s ATP meetings.
Sinner, who with the victory recorded his sixth second win of this season has not lost to Shelton since their first meeting last year in Shanghai, when the American came from behind to prevail in a third-set tie-break.
“It was very tough. He played only first serves, except one second serve,” Sinner said, referring to Shelton’s incredible 95 per cent first-serve percentage in the opening set. “I tried to wait a little bit. Obviously playing against him, even if it’s a second serve, it’s very tough to return.”
Jannik Sinner wins the final seven points to close out a win against Ben Shelton in Shanghai.
“But if I look the positive picture, how I ended the match, I tried to stay a bit more aggressive, which I’ve done, and this hopefully can give me confidence for the for the next round.”
The ATP Tour leader in wins (62) and titles (six) this season, Sinner is now through to his seventh ATP Masters 1000 quarter-final of the year — the most in a single season since Alexander Zverev’s seven in 2018.
Sinner has reached the quarters in all 14 events he has entered this season and will next meet 2019 champion Daniil Medvedev who in style defeated Stefanos Tsitsipas 7-6(3), 6-3.
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