Sinner Dominates De Minaur to Reach Australian Open Semis

Jannik Sinner celebrates victory over De Minaur at Australian Open.

Defending champion Jannik Sinner overcame concerns about his physical condition to comfortably defeat home favorite Alex de Minaur and secure a spot in the Australian Open semi-finals. Despite struggling with illness in his previous match, the 23-year-old Italian looked in sharp form, dispatching the eighth-seeded De Minaur 6-3, 6-2, 6-1.

Sinner had faced health issues just days before, needing medical attention following his fourth-round victory over Denmark’s Holger Rune. However, he dismissed any rumors of having pneumonia, revealing that his blood tests had come back “all good.” The world number one expressed confidence, stating that he felt much better upon waking up the morning of the match and was “ready” to compete.

“When you’re young, you recover quickly,” Sinner said after the match. “It’s a bit different.” With his illness behind him, Sinner’s performance in the quarter-finals reminded him of his class and composure under pressure, as he easily outlasted De Minaur in the rallies and broke serve six times.

Sinner’s next opponent in the last four will be American Ben Shelton, who also reached his first Melbourne semi-final with a hard-fought 6-4, 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (7-4) victory over Italy’s Lorenzo Sonego. Shelton, 22, survived a challenging match that stretched to nearly four hours and included a dramatic tie-break in the fourth set.

Shelton was pleased with his performance, especially after clocking a tournament joint-fastest 144mph serve, and praised Sonego for his “ridiculous tennis.” The American will aim to reach his second Grand Slam final after making the semi-finals at the 2023 US Open, where eventual champion Novak Djokovic defeated him.

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The atmosphere at Rod Laver Arena was expected to be electric, with home fans hoping for an upset from De Minaur. However, the Australian’s woeful record against Sinner, which included nine previous losses, came to the fore. De Minaur struggled to cope with Sinner’s consistency, particularly in the colder conditions that favored the Italian’s game. After the match, De Minaur acknowledged Sinner’s dominance, saying, “Right now, my worst match-up on tour is Jannik. The head-to-head doesn’t lie.”

Sinner’s dominant performance ensured the crowd was silenced mainly as the world number one made light work of De Minaur’s challenge. Despite the strong support for the home player, Sinner’s clinical play left the 15,000-strong crowd with little to cheer.

As Sinner looks ahead to his semi-final against Shelton, he will hope to continue his impressive run at Melbourne Park and reach his second consecutive Australian Open final.