By Richard Pagliaro | @Tennis_Now | Wednesday, January 22, 2025
World No. 1 Jannik Sinner demolished Alex de Minaur 6-3, 6-2, 6-1 streaking into this fifth major semifinal at the Australian Open.
Photo credit: ROLEX
Australian No. 1 Alex de Minaur is one of the fastest movers in the sport.
Tonight, a sharp Jannik Sinner shoved de Minaur into shadows of obscurity on Rod Laver Arena.
Playing with buzz-kill ruthlessness, Sinner demolished de Minaur 6-3, 6-2, 6-1 streaking into this fifth major semifinal at the Australian Open.

Defending champion Sinner scored his 12th consecutive Australian Open win and barely looked stressed doing it.
“I feel like today I was feeling everything,” Sinner told Hall of Famer Jim Courier in his on-court interview afterward. “When days like this and you break quite early in every set it’s a little bit easier.
“But he’s a very tough competitor. He is an amazing player. I know so many guys came for him tonight, but thank you so much for being fair. It was an amazing atmosphere.”
World No. 1 Sinner sent a strong statement to the field as he enters this Happy Slam home stretch. Sinner has won 34 of his last 35 matches—only Carlos Alcaraz has beaten him in this span—and carries a 19-match major hard-court winning streak into Friday’s semifinals.
World No. 1 Sinner will face American Ben Shelton for a spot in Sunday’s final.
Earlier, the 21st-seeded Shelton won 38 of 49 trips to net defeating Sinner’s Italian Davis Cup doubles partner Lorenzo Sonego 6-4, 7-5, 4-6, 7-6(4) in a three-hour, 50-minute battle.
“Obviously, Jannik, defending champion. We know what he's done,” Shelton said of playing Sinner. “Either way, a really tough matchup. I'm really looking forward to it.
“I think that anytime you get to line up against the best in the world is a great opportunity to improve your game and see where you're at, and that's what Friday will be for me.”
The 23-year-old Sinner is 4-1 lifetime vs. Shelton sweeping nine straight sets vs. the explosive left-handed American.
“Against [Ben] we played last year some very tough matches,” Sinner said. “Obviously he is one of the best servers on tour, lefty, a different rotation of the ball is coming.
“So hopefully I’m ready. Hopefully I can return as many serves as possible and then trying to stay very concentrated about my game like today. I’m trying to stay aggressive and then we will see.”
Five of the 12 sets Sinner and Shelton have played have been decided by tiebreakers.
The 2023 US Open semifinalist Shelton will try to play major disruptor against the defending champion.
“I think it's a calculated risk. You have to choose your moments, still be confident in the things that you trust,” Shelton said of facing Sinner. “I don't think I'll be redlining. If anything, I've been, in terms of my baseline play, a bit more conservative this tournament, okay with going deep in rallies. Probably have to step that up a little bit in the semifinals.
“But I don't think that 'redlining' would be the term. I think that a more aggressive game style, that's taking the ball a little earlier or serve and volleying more or taking first ball line and running in instead of, you know, hitting five or six forehands in a row.”
How dominant was Sinner tonight?
A superb Sinner shredded the speedy de Minaur breaking serve six times and winning 32 of 38 points played on his first serve.
Breaking early in each set, Sinner spread the court beautifully and often sent de Minaur scurrying corner to corner in pursuit.
The third Aussie man in the last 20 years to reach the AO quarterfinals, de Minaur gave it all but lacked the firepower to truly trouble Sinner.
By the latter stages of the imposing Italian’s one hour, 48-minute win, de Minaur applauded Sinner’s performance right along with the Rod Laver Arena fans.
The top-seeded Sinner improved to a perfect 10-0 vs. de Minaur and has now swept the last 20 straight sets the pair have played.
Sinner is 28-2 in his last five major appearances and will try to keep this sublime Slam streak going against Shelton.