There was an unknown factor about Jannik Sinner’s condition after the problems he had during the match against Holger Rune at the 2025 Australian Open. The world No.1 swept away any doubts by demolishing Alex de Minaur in the last quarterfinal and reached the semifinals of the Happy Slam, where he will try to defend the title he won last year.
The Italian ace’s performance was truly impressive and confirmed his status as the top favourite to lift the trophy on Sunday 26 January. The 23-year-old from Sesto Pusteria has raised the level incredibly compared to the previous rounds and has literally suffocated the Australian ace, who really has no weapons to put the 2-time Grand Slam champion in difficulty.
Jannik’s opponent in the semifinals will be American ace Ben Shelton, who defeated the other Italian Lorenzo Sonego in the quarterfinals (he also defeated Lorenzo Musetti in the third round). Ben is a very dangerous player on this surface and has already defeated Sinner once, more specifically at the 2023 Rolex Shanghai Masters.
Sinner on Djokovic vs. Alcaraz
During his post-match interview, the world number 1 was also asked for a comment on the epic match between Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz played yesterday.
“I saw the match between Nole and Carlos and it was really electrifying,” said Sinner. “It’s really a shame that these two great players faced each other already in the quarterfinals, it was like it was a semifinal or a final. The rivalry between Djokovic and Alcaraz is the best we have right now, but many young talents are emerging and new rivalries will surely arise in the coming years,” he added.
At 23 years and 159 days, Jannik became the youngest player to reach the semifinals at the AO twice in a row since Rafael Nadal in 2008-2009. The Italian champion has no intention of stopping here and is ready to play his best tennis on Friday and possibly Sunday.
The bookmakers no longer have any doubts: Sinner is the man to beat in the final weekend of the tournament.
Tennis World USA