World number one Jannik Sinner put speculation regarding his fitness aside with a dominant quarterfinal victory against Ben Shelton at Wimbledon 2025 on Wednesday.
The Italian sensation produced yet another confident display, closing out a 7-6(2), 6-4, 6-4 win on No. 1 Court to reach the semifinals for the second consecutive year at the elite grass-court Slam.
Arriving in the match was concern over Sinner's right elbow after he needed treatment in his fourth-round game against Grigor Dimitrov. Despite falling behind two sets, Sinner came through when Dimitrov retired in the third. Any doubts about his physical well-being were dispelled in short order, though, as the 22-year-old dominated early and never relented in a two-hour and 19-minute affair.
"I'm really, really pleased with today's game," Sinner added in his interview on court. "Playing against him is so hard. You have opportunities, and then he serves really well, like in the last match. Generally, we play against each other more and more, we know each other a little bit more, and I'm excited to play these type of battles."
Meeting Shelton at Wimbledon for the first time, Sinner made a big impression by taking the opening-set tie-break with seven consecutive points. He broke the American's serve once in each of the next two sets to secure a straight-sets victory — his sixth successive triumph over Shelton on the ATP Tour.
Now standing at 24-3 for the season, Sinner, who won his first Grand Slam title at the Australian Open in the first half of the year, will face either seven-time Wimbledon winner Novak Djokovic or fellow countryman Flavio Cobolli on Friday in the semifinal match.
Questioned over his recovery from the elbow problem, Sinner considered how he dealt with the injury leading up to the match: "When you are playing in a match with a lot of stress, you do not think about it," he explained. "It has been much better today compared to yesterday.".
"Yesterday my day on the practice court was very short, 20 minutes with the coaches only. But I [was] looking forward to [the match]. This is no excuse. There is no better stage to play tennis, and I think I showed this today."
With his clinical performance and serene demeanor, Sinner continues to emphasize his credentials as the man to beat on grass this season — and is now only two victories from winning his second major.
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