By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Thursday July 10, 2025
Jannik Sinner: on another level.
Ben Shelton, who has been eliminated by the Italian in two of the last three majors, saw it first-hand on Wednesday as he fell to the World No.1 in straight sets for the sixth consecutive time.
Shelton says that there is nobody else on the tour who plays with the high-octane, concussive style that Sinner possesses.
“His ball speed is really high. Never seen anything like it,” Shelton said. “You don’t see anything like it when you’re going through the draw. When you play him, it’s almost like things are in 2x speed.
“It’s difficult when a guy’s hitting the ball that big, that consistently off both wings, and serving the way he is.”
Shelton, who won his first match with Shelton at Shanghai in 2023, has dropped 15 consecutive sets to Sinner, and lost his last six tiebreaks against him. He’s been close, at times, and he was again on Wednesdsay, but not close enough.
“I had the right idea for a lot of the match today,” he said. “I served a lot better than I did in Australia. Smarter. Just went for it. But my first-serve percentage dropped in the moments that I needed it, and I probably just played too tentative. It was almost like a lot of the forehands that I was hitting that I needed to go for, that you need to go for against a guy like that, I was kind of spinning them.”
Despite defeats to Alcaraz at Roland-Garros and Sinner at Wimbledon, Shelton can take solace in his efforts at the natural surface Grand Slams. He has significantly improved on both surfaces, and he’s eager to take that confidence back to the US hard courts this summer. “There’s no doubt in my mind that I’m going back to my favorite surface now and the US summer a better player compared to where I was in March,” he said. “There’s no doubt. Athletic ability, movement, ball tolerance, shot selection, feel, finishing at the net, return game.”
Shelton has achieved a high level of success by 22 years of age, but he’s far from being a finished product in his mind.
“I’m a critical thinker. I’m trying to solve problems,” he said. “I know that I’m not where I want to be. That’s kind of what I’m focusing on. Obviously being closer and being in the later stages makes you even more hungry and makes you feel like you can do it and you can break through. I’m definitely grateful for these opportunities and the ones that I’ve had in the later stages of these tournaments. But yeah, my mind is just kind of locked in on the work that I have to do.”
Despite putting up career-best performances at Roland-Garros (round of 16) and Wimbledon (quarterfinal) Shelton is far from content.
“I wouldn’t say that I’m satisfied,” he said. “Can I be or feel confident coming off the first three slams of the season going into the fourth and encouraged and excited about the opportunity at the US Open because of what I’ve put together so far this year? Yes. At the same time, it still stings.”