December 24, 2024
Jannik Sinner continued his perfect 2024 season and extended his overall winning streak to 18 matches with a mature performance against home favourite Ben Shelton on Tuesday night at the BNP Paribas Open.
The 22-year-old Sinner kept his composure in the face of Shelton’s firepower and leaned on his big-match experience to secure a 7-6(4), 6-1 victory. By reaching the Indian Wells quarter-finals.
In doing so, the Australian Open champion earned his 150th hard-court tour-level win (150-46), becoming the first player born since 2000 to reach that milestone.
“For sure it was a different matchup. I knew that obviously playing against him, there’s not so much rhythm,” Sinner said. “But I think I can be really proud about how I played.
“I just tried to stay positive. There were tough moments, especially in the first set. I’m really happy that I won that, and obviously started really positive in the second set, which gave me a lot of confidence.”
Winner of 35 of his past 37 matches, Sinner is seeking to win his third consecutive title this season after triumphs at the Australian Open and Rotterdam. He is also bidding for his second ATP Masters 1000 crown following his Toronto run last August.
Next up for Sinner, whose father is with him in Indian Wells, is a quarter-final matchup with 32nd seed Jiri Lehecka. The 22-year-old Czech has won his past six sets in Indian Wells, including straight-sets upsets against fifth seed Andrey Rublev and 11th seed Stefanos Tsitsipas. Lehecka did not allow a break point against Rublev on Sunday, and he saved all four of Tsitsipas’ break chances on Tuesday.
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