Will the Italian march confidently into the final?

The Australian audience’s hopes that there could be an Australian winner in the men’s singles for the first time in 49 years did not last long. In just 110 minutes, Jannik Sinner swept over Alex de Minaur and eliminated the last remaining Australian in the quarterfinals with just six games dropped, clearly winning 3-0 (6-3, 6-2, 6-1). Jannik Sinner is also the betting favorite against Ben Shelton in the next demonstration of power.

However, Ben Shelton has also sold himself quite expensively. The 22-year-old shooting star now has a record of eleven singles wins from 13 matches at the Australian Open and is now hoping to somehow break the dominance of the title defender. However, when it comes to Jannik Sinner against Ben Shelton, it must be taken into account that the Italian has won the last four encounters.

It is also true that Ben Shelton won the very first encounter with Jannik Sinner. However, since the South Tyrolean has risen to the top of the world rankings and, in addition to two Grand Slam titles, four Masters titles and the Davis Cup, also won the ATP Finals last year, the American has not even managed to win a set in most of their matches since.

Although Sinner surprisingly lost a set against Rune in the round of 16, it is therefore quite likely that the world number one will win his next 3-0 victory and book his second Australian Open final. Interwetten offers odds of 1.70 for this.

Jannik Sinner – Statistics & current form

Current ranking in the world rankings: 1
Position in the seed list: 1

There’s simply no stopping 23-year-old Italian Jannik Sinner, who in 2025 picks up exactly where he left off in 2024. Last season, the South Tyrolean won eight singles titles and lost just six of his 79 completed singles matches.

In doing so, the Sextner reached several milestones: at the Australian Open and the US Open, he won his first two Grand Slam titles, at the ATP Finals he was crowned world champion for the first time, he became the first Italian to top the world rankings and then led his country to overall victory in the Davis Cup.

Jannik Sinner has not lost since September

Now the 23-year-old could even manage to defend the title in Melbourne. After five victories, which means he has now won 19 consecutive singles matches over the course of two years, the Italian is once again in the round of the best four players.

Once again, the manner in which he did so was impressive. In the round of 16, the man from Sextner was briefly drawn into a sideshow against Holger Rune (ATP 13) and then lost the second set when his serve temporarily failed. But as soon as he regained his concentration, the Dane was unable to counter him.

Jannik Sinner with a pure demonstration of power in the quarterfinals

The betting tip for Jannik Sinner’s match against Ben Shelton is still a clean victory for the world number one, but he was under a very lucky star in the third round. In the end, the 23-year-old was back to his old self in the quarterfinals, sweeping away Australian hopeful Alex de Minaur (ATP 8) like a hurricane.

A few numbers from the quarterfinals are enough to illustrate the Italian’s dominance: only one break point allowed, which he defended, an incredible 81 percent of points won on the second (!) serve, and a total of 47 percent of return points won.

Ben Shelton – Statistics & current form

Current world ranking: 20
Seed: 21

As the son of an absolute tennis family – father Bryan Shelton was once ranked 55th in the ATP world rankings, and uncle Todd Witsken was even ranked 43rd – 22-year-old American Ben Shelton was introduced to tennis at an early age.

Although the man from Atlanta, Georgia, only started playing at the age of twelve, the 1.93-meter-tall left-hander quickly worked his way up, first at the national level and then internationally. Two years ago, he made it to the quarterfinals at his Australian Open debut.

Ben Shelton with a strong win rate in Melbourne

Ben Shelton is currently taking part in the hard court Grand Slam in the Down Under for the third time, where the journey now went all the way to the semi-finals, just like at the US Open 2023. This means that the American has won 11 of the 13 singles matches he has played in the Australian Open men’s singles – an incredibly impressive win rate of 84.6 percent.

Nevertheless, the odds are now against the American in Jannik Sinner’s match against Ben Shelton. The Bet365 app is quoting 11.00 for his place in the grand final, which clearly indicates that he is the clear underdog going into the game.

Ben Shelton with problems in almost every round

Not only did Ben Shelton eventually lose the last four singles matches against Jannik Sinner, but he also had a much harder time in the tournament. It took three hours for the 22-year-old to beat the aging Gaël Monfils (ATP 41) 2-1, only for the Frenchman to have to withdraw injured. His quarter-final against Sinner compatriot Lorenzo Sonego (ATP 55) also lasted three hours and 53 minutes.

In a tight four-set match, the world no. 20 was able to defend six of eight break points against his opponent. However, he only converted three of his own eleven break chances. If only because of the fact that Jannik Sinner is unlikely to offer him that many break points, this rate alone must improve drastically for him to even come close to putting the world number one at risk of losing.

Jannik Sinner – Ben Shelton Head to head record

Head to head: 4:1

The two players have met five times so far, and high-flyer Jannik Sinner has beaten the American in four of those five encounters. Ben Shelton only won their very first meeting at the Shanghai Masters 2023, after which he was beaten by the Sextner four times in a row. In all five matches, at least one set went into a tiebreak, which Jannik Sinner won in four out of five cases.

Jannik Sinner – Ben Shelton Tip

The betting odds of the top bookmakers are also clearly and unequivocally in favor of the world number one Jannik Sinner against Ben Shelton. No wonder, because the Italian, who has now won 19 consecutive singles matches, was back to his old self in the quarterfinals, sweeping past local hero Alex de Minaur in just 110 minutes with only six games lost.

If the title defender, who was already able to lift the Norman Brookes Challenge Cup at Melbourne Park last year, brings his performance to the court again, the American, who has won 11 of his 13 singles matches at the Australian Open, will hardly stand a chance. Consequently, our prediction is a 3-0 victory for Jannik Sinner against Ben Shelton.