Preview: Australian Open: Ben Shelton vs. Jannik Sinner - prediction, head-to-head, tournament so far

Aiming to end his losing streak against Jannik Sinner, in-form Ben Shelton faces the two-time defending Australian Open champion on Wednesday for a place in the semi-finals.

The American No. 1 has been in excellent form Down Under, but he confronts his three-peat-chasing nemesis in the quarter-finals for a spot in another last-four encounter.

Match preview

Having served impressively in rounds one to three, without dropping a set in victories over Ugo Humbert, Dane Sweeny and Valentin Vacherot, Casper Ruud, losing the opening set on Monday might have introduced some doubt into Shelton’s mind.

However, the vibrant left-hander overwhelmed the Norwegian in the subsequent three sets to secure a 3-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-4 win in two hours and 36 minutes.

Ruud found it difficult to contend with the 23-year-old's power, whose serving prowess has been exceptional at Melbourne Park.

The American No. 1 has not dropped below 77.8% in first-serve points won in his four victories so far, while 64.5% of points on his second deal against Humbert in round one remains his lowest, a figure that increased to 72.7% against his last-16 opponent.

Serving strongly against Sinner will undoubtedly be crucial to solving the puzzle posed by the four-time Grand Slam champion, as box-office Ben aims to reach the semi-finals of a Major for the third time and consecutive years in Australia, where he could face either Novak Djokovic or Lorenzo Musetti.

The American star cannot afford to look too far ahead, as he still needs to cause an upset to advance to another last-four at a Slam.

Sinner halted Shelton's path to what could have been his first Slam final last year and stopped the American's best Wimbledon run in the quarter-finals months later, all without dropping a set.

Despite serving impressive aces en route to another last-eight appearance — 18 against James Duckworth and 19 in Monday's win over Luciano Darderi — Sinner has also faced physical difficulties this year.

The four-time Grand Slam champion benefited from the roof closing at the right moment against Eliot Spizzirri in the third round and appeared to be fading in Monday's third set against compatriot Darderi before raising his level in the tiebreak to seal a 6-1, 6-3, 7-6(2) victory.

Monday's win marked Sinner's 18th consecutive victory at the tournament, equalling Jim Courier’s run from 1992-1994 and one behind Roger Federer's 19 wins from 2006-2008.

Though Sinner, arguably the best hard-court player, is just one win shy of moving joint-fourth for the longest winning streaks at the Slam, he will be cautious of a motivated Shelton, whose desire to avoid a ninth straight loss in this matchup is greater than ever.

Tournament so far

Ben Shelton:

First round: vs. Ugo Humbert 6-3 7-6(2) 7-6(5)

Second round: vs. Dane Sweeny 6-3 6-2 6-2

Third round: vs. Valentin Vacherot 6-4 6-4 7-6(5)

Round of 16: vs. Casper Ruud 3-6 6-4 6-3 6-4

Jannik Sinner:

First round: vs. Hugo Gaston 6-2 6-1 (ret)

Second round: vs. James Duckworth 6-1 6-4 6-2

Third round: vs. Eliot Spizzirri 4-6 6-3 6-4 6-4

Round of 16: vs. Luciano Darderi 6-1 6-3 7-6(2)

Head To Head

ATP Finals (2025) - Round Robin: Sinner 6-3 7-6(3)

Paris Masters (2025) - Quarter-final: Sinner 6-3 6-3

Wimbledon (2025) - Quarter-final: Sinner 7-6(2) 6-4 6-4

Australian Open (2025) - Semi-final: Sinner 7-6(2) 6-2 6-2

Shanghai Masters (2024) - Round of 16: Sinner 6-4 7-6(1)

Wimbledon (2024) - Fourth round: Sinner 6-2 6-4 7-6(9)

Indian Wells (2024) - Round of 16: Sinner 7-6(4) 6-1

Vienna (2023) - Round of 32: Sinner 7-6(2) 7-5

Shanghai Masters (2023) - Round of 16: Shelton 2-6 6-3 7-6(5)

Since his comeback victory in Shanghai three years ago, Shelton has not taken a set off Sinner, who leads their head-to-head 8-1 ahead of their 10th contest on the ATP Tour.

Most of their encounters have involved tiebreaks, with the American winning the very first in Shanghai, but he has since failed to win the next seven shootouts.

Sinner leads their hard-court meetings 6-1, with half of those wins in indoor conditions, and aims to improve his overall record to 7-1.

With Carlos Alcaraz the only top-10 player to defeat the defending Aussie Open champion in the last 52 weeks, the Italian’s status as favourite heading into Wednesday is clear.

We say: Sinner to win in four sets

Surely, Shelton should finally manage to take a set against Sinner this time, considering the Italian No. 1’s apparent physical vulnerability Down Under.

While it’s likely that Shelton will take a set, Sinner, who has defeated 11 top-10 opponents since his US Open final loss, should secure a 12th and move into yet another semi-final in Melbourne.