Ben Shelton left stunned by Jannik Sinner in Wimbledon quarterfinal, 'I’ve never seen anything like it'

Jannik Sinner cruised into the semifinal of Wimbledon by crushing Ben Shelton in straight sets.

Andy Roddick gave Shelton a chance of beating Sinner, but that never really looked likely from the off.

Sinner had an MRI scan on his elbow before this match, and despite wearing strapping, he didn’t look troubled too often.

Next up for Sinner is a semifinal clash with Novak Djokovic, and given how he played against Flavio Cobolli, it looks like a mouthwatering prospect.

Shelton was blown away 7-6, 6-4, 6-4 by Sinner and there was one aspect of his performance at Wimbledon that left the American truly shocked.

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Ben Shelton shares what Jannik Sinner did that stunned him

Shelton gave it his all in this quarterfinal contest, but ultimately, he will know that he’s got a lot to learn for the future if he’s to compete with players like this over five sets.

The 22-year-old has bags of time on his side, though, and this performance will do everything to give him optimism that he can eventually win a big prize.

After losing to Sinner in three sets, Shelton admitted there was one element of his opponent’s performance that simply left him bamboozled.

He said in his press conference: “It’s frustrating. There are a lot of things. It’s two very different players and challenges. With Sinner who I’ve played the most, his ball speed is really high. I’ve never seen anything like it. 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.

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“I’m usually pretty good at adjusting to that speed. It’s difficult when a guy is hitting the ball that big that consistently off both wings and serving the way he is. I had the right idea for a lot of the match today. I served a lot better than I did in Australia. Smarter. Just went for it. But my first serve percentage dropped in the moments I needed it. I probably played too tentatively.

“It was almost like a lot of the forehands I was hitting that you need to go for against a guy like that, I was kind of spinning them, topping out. Like I was playing on a slower hard court or a clay court. For me, I’m still learning on the grass what works and what’s most effective. I didn’t have a great day today of doing things that were gonna make him uncomfortable.”

Ben Shelton is one for the future

This defeat will feel very sore right now, but he can take a lot of heart from reaching the quarterfinal for the first time at Wimbledon.

That should give him hope going to the US Open next month, where he will be hoping to make another semifinal, much like he did in 2023.

Shelton has already won a couple of titles during his career and the challenge to start with is to garner the belief that he can beat the big players in the top tournaments.

The 22-year-old has only been on the professional circuit since 2022 and it’s quite remarkable that he’s risen through the ranks at such an alarming rate.

His time won’t be at Wimbledon in 2025, but he must take the positives from this and use the experiences to bounce back in the future.

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