Shelton Advances to Australian Open Semifinals

Former Florida tennis star No.21 Ben Shelton will face off against No.1 ranked Italian Jannik Sinner in the semifinals of the Australian Open after defeating Lorenzo Sonego (6-4, 7-5, 4-6, 7-6). Shelton is the youngest male player in 22 years to make it to this level of the Australian Open.

Shelton defeated unseeded Italian player, Lorenzo Sonego in the quarterfinals. The pair played an intense match that concluded with a fourth set tiebreaker.

'Merica!@benshelton survives a four set, nearly four hour war of attrition against Lorenzo Sonego!

Semifinal Shelts.@wwos • @espn • @eurosport • @wowowtennis • #AusOpen • #AO2025 pic.twitter.com/jDQbmZLIiI

— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 22, 2025

Shelton spoke about the intense evening in his post-match press conference on Australian Open TV.

“The difference in my game… When I was playing here in 2023 or US Open 2023, I felt like everything had to be perfect I was redlining, I was at my limits,” he said. “Lately, especially in the matches here, everything hasn’t been perfect. I had one good serving day out of my five matches and I’ve had to pick up the slack of everything else.”

The 22-year-old Shelton will take on top seed Jannik Sinner, 23, on Thursday night ET. Sinner, the defending champion, is coming off of a win in the U.S Open.

Other Results

The other semifinal match is set for Thursday: 37 -year-old No. 7 Novak Djokovic will face 27-year-old No.2 Alexander Zverev. Djokovic defeated reigning French Open and Wimbledon champion No. 3 Carlos Alcaraz in the quarterfinals. Zverev defeated No.14 Ugo Humbert to advance to the semifinals.

Are you ready? WE ARE 🍿#AO2025 pic.twitter.com/U7VwYIkpFU

— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 22, 2025

Shelton Speaks Out Against Media

Shelton spoke out Wednesday morning against how the media and interviewers have treated the Australian Open players.

“I feel like broadcaster should be helping us grow our sport and help these athletes that just won matches enjoy one of their biggest moments,” he said. “I feel like there’s just been a lot of negativity and I think that’s something that needs to change.”

Where to Watch

Shelton’s semifinals match will air Thursday on ESPN.