By HOWARD FENDRICH AP Tennis Writer
MELBOURNE, Australia — Ben Shelton’s Australian Open quarterfinal foe, Lorenzo Sonego, produced the shot of the tournament – diving to his left for a volley with so much spin that the ball bounced on one side of the net, then floated back over to the other – but it was the American who ended up with the victory on Wednesday (late Tuesday night PT).
The left-handed Shelton did some entertaining of his own, including earning cheers by doing a couple of push-ups after tumbling in the concluding tiebreaker, and reached his second Grand Slam semifinal at the age of 22 by beating the unseeded Sonego, 6-4, 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (4).
“I’m relieved,” said Shelton, who will meet top-seeded Jannik Sinner of Italy or No. 8 Alex de Minaur of Australia on Friday for a spot in Sunday’s final. “Shout out Lorenzo Sonego, because that was some ridiculous tennis.”
Shelton, who is seeded 21st, closed the first set with a 144 mph ace, tied for the fastest serve at Melbourne Park over the past 1½ weeks, and flexed his left arm after smacking a powerful forehand to close a 22-stroke point and earn a break in the second. His father Bryan, a former tour pro who is Ben’s coach, grinned, too, while patting his own right biceps.
A few points from the end, Shelton sprinted to get his racket on a seemingly unreachable ball, and fell into a courtside advertising board as Sonego hit an easy winner to take the point. Shelton stayed on the ground for a bit, then earned applause for his effort – and post-fall calisthenics.
When Shelton ended things with his 26th forehand winner – he had none via backhands – he flexed again and sneered until his expression morphed into a smile.
As good as Shelton is with his serves and forehands, his improving return game is a significant part of what carried him to the final four at the Australian Open for the first time. He did just enough in that department, accumulating 11 break points and converting three, against Sonego, an Italian ranked 55th. Shelton entered the match coming through on 52% of his break chances, the highest rate among the eight men’s quarterfinalists.
Shelton – who lost to 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic in the 2023 U.S. Open semifinals – had to wait to find out his next opponent, because Sinner and de Minaur were scheduled to meet in the last quarterfinal on Wednesday night (overnight PT).
The other semifinal will be Djokovic vs. second-seeded Alexander Zverev. Djokovic continued his pursuit of an 11th Australian Open title and unprecedented 25th major trophy by overcoming a leg injury and Carlos Alcaraz, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-4, in a quarterfinal that began Tuesday night and ended at nearly 1 a.m. in the wee hours of Wednesday.
The women’s semifinals Thursday night are No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka, the tournament winner each of the last two years, against No. 11 Paula Badosa, and No. 2 Iga Swiatek against No. 19 Madison Keys.
The crowd-pleasing factor was high for Shelton vs. Sonego, who never before had made it this far at a major.
Sonego went 67 for 90 on trips to the net, and his highlight-reel volley came at the outset of the second set. It was so remarkable that Shelton acknowledged the effort by offering a congratulatory handshake.
There was another terrific shot by Sonego in the fourth set, when he raced with his back to the net and spun to hit a hook shot of sorts that resulted in a winner.
It’s Shelton, though, who will get to keep playing in Melbourne this year.
