Ben Shelton’s struggles against No. 1 Jannik Sinner continue, even at Wimbledon.
In last year’s tournament, the Italian eliminated Shelton in the fourth round of the tournament in straight sets 6-2, 6-4, 7-6 (11-9).
Earlier this year, the former Gator lost again to Sinner in straight sets at the Australian Open 6-7 (2-7), 2-6, 2-6.
In Wednesday’s quarterfinal matchup at Wimbledon, Sinner came out on top in straight sets once again, defeating the American 7-6 (7-2), 6-4, 6-4. Shelton has lost six straight matches against the Italian.
Shelton came into Wednesday’s contest on a dominant run in the tournament, losing just one set in his first four matches. Last time out, the Gainesville native overcame dropping the opening set to Italy’s Lorenzo Sonego by taking the following three sets to victory. Shelton was in the midst of his deepest run at Wimbledon, and a win against Sinner would mark the former Gator’s third Grand Slam semifinal.
No. 1 Sinner had an unusual path to the quarterfinals at Wimbledon. The Italian won his first three matches in straight sets, but in his quarterfinal match, he just scraped by against Bulgaria’s Grigor Dimitrov. Sinner was down two sets against Dimitrov, but the Bulgarian was forced to retire from the match due to injury.
“I don't take this as a win at all,” Sinner said after the match. “He deserved to play the next round.”
Strong service games characterized the first set of the quarterfinal match. Even in the fifth game, where Sinner came back to force deuce, Shelton’s serve was vital in preventing the Italian from getting an early break. The two continued their back-and-forth holds throughout the opening set, forcing a tiebreaker.
Shelton won the first two points in the tiebreaker, but Sinner answered by taking the following seven points to grab the tiebreaker 7-2 and the opening set 7-6. The result marked Shelton’s first lost tiebreaker at the 2025 Wimbledon Championships.
The American was positioned to rebound early in the second set with two break-point opportunities in the first game. However, Sinner forced a deuce and later took the game to hold.
Shelton had another opportunity to break in the seventh game after forcing a deuce, but Sinner held strong.
This missed opportunity hurt Shelton, as Sinner broke the American to finish off the second set 6-4.
Just like the other sets, the third set started with the two trading holds. With Sinner serving first, he took a 5-4 lead following his fifth hold, putting Shelton’s back against the wall. The American failed to answer back, with Sinner breaking again to finish the set. Ultimately, the Italian prevailed 6-4 to clinch a straight sets victory and a ticket to the semifinal.
Next, Sinner will take on No. 6 Novak Djokovic in the semifinals, while Shelton prepares for incoming tournaments leading up to the US Open in late August.
Contact Jeffrey Serber at Jserber@alligator.org. Follow him on X @JeffreySerber.
Jeffrey is the Summer 2025 women's tennis beat reporter and a second-year journalism sports & media major. In his free time, he enjoys hanging out with friends and family, and rooting for the Miami sports teams.
