Ben Shelton plans to ride on ‘rowdy’ Melbourne crowd to stun Jannik Sinner
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Ben Shelton of the US serving during his 3-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-4 win over Norway's Casper Ruud in their last-16 clash at the Australian Open on Jan 26.
PHOTO: AFP
MELBOURNE – All-action American Ben Shelton plans to harness the energy of a “rowdy” Australian Open crowd to pull off a shock in the quarter-finals against two-time reigning champion Jannik Sinner.
The eighth seed made the comments after beating 12th-seeded Norwegian Casper Ruud to book a clash with Italy’s Sinner on Jan 28.
The 23-year-old Shelton revels in the atmosphere at Melbourne Park, where he reached the semi-finals in 2025, only to lose in straight sets to Sinner. He is now seeking revenge against the second seed.
“I’m definitely a competitor, I’m rowdy on court, I look forward to rowdy crowds, and down here in Australia there’s no shortage,” he said, after seeing off Ruud in four sets at Rod Laver Arena on Jan 26.
Shelton found himself on centre court after Novak Djokovic’s last-16 encounter with Jakub Mensik fell by the wayside when the Czech player pulled out injured.
Some fans were disappointed not to see 10-time Melbourne champion Djokovic – something that Shelton was aware of.
“I want to thank you guys for staying out here so late,” he told the arena in his on-court interview following the late-night clash against Ruud.
“I know you guys were probably looking forward to watching Novak tonight,” he added, to cheers and a couple of boos. “I actually heard it from the stands, but I hope we didn’t disappoint with that match.”
Shelton celebrated beating Ruud with his trademark “dialled in” motion of pretending to slam down a landline telephone. He hopes to celebrate again in his next match.
Sinner and Shelton have met nine times, with the world No. 2 winning eight of them. The American’s only victory over the four-time Major winner came in their very first encounter at the 2023 Shanghai Masters, where Shelton emerged victorious in three sets.
But in a warning to Sinner, Shelton said: “I have a lot more to do here and a lot more to improve.
“I think my return game has improved a lot. A year ago today I wasn’t comfortable hitting a forehand return. I didn’t put a lot in play. I had to go to the chip a lot to put it in play.
“And now I’m getting to a point in the match where I feel like I’m (in) lockdown mode, and I can’t miss one.
“I feel like I’m hitting it bigger than I’ve ever hit it. I think that is a piece that really helps me because you got to play offensive tennis to beat the best guys.” AFP, REUTERS
