Jannik Sinner Powers Past De Minaur, Reaches Semi-Finals

Jannik Sinner dismissed concerns about his physical condition, overcoming illness to dominate Alex de Minaur 6-3 6-2 6-1 and reach the Australian Open semi-finals. Despite struggling with sickness in his previous match, Sinner looked sharp against the Australian eighth seed. Two days after feeling unwell before his match with Denmark’s Holger Rune, Sinner reassured fans that he felt “ready” on Wednesday morning. He also denied rumors of pneumonia, explaining that his blood tests had come back “all good.”

Sinner, 23, attributed his quick recovery to youth, saying, “When you are young, you recover very fast.” He will face American Ben Shelton in the semi-finals after Shelton battled past Italy’s Lorenzo Sonego 6-4 7-5 4-6 7-6 (7-4). Sinner’s dominant performance in the quarter-finals silenced the Melbourne crowd, who had hoped De Minaur might cause an upset, especially given Sinner’s recent health struggles.

De Minaur, who had never beaten Sinner in nine prior encounters, struggled to cope with Jannik Sinner’s relentless consistency and powerful ball striking. Sinner broke De Minaur’s serve six times, winning the match comfortably. Shelton, in his first Australian Open semi-final, fought hard to overcome Sonego. Despite losing a set, Shelton’s strong serving, including a tournament joint-fastest 144mph serve saw him through in a tie-break.

Shelton praised Sonego’s performance, saying, “That was some ridiculous tennis.” Friday’s semi-final will mark Shelton’s second Grand Slam semi-final appearance after his 2023 US Open loss to Novak Djokovic. Both players have benefited from an open quarter of the draw following the early exits of top-10 seeds.