by The 2025 Australian Open Semi-Finals are set. Wednesday’s matches finalized the opponents, and there is one American left standing in men’s singles: 22 Ben Shelton.
Shelton, the No. 21 seed, won a grueling quarterfinal against unseeded Cinderella Lorenzo Sonegobeating him 6-4, 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (4). Sonego and Shelton were well matched as competitors and each set was hotly contested, until the tiebreaker at the end. And if anyone was wondering how Sonego, 29, currently ranked No. 55 in the world, reached the first Grand Slam quarterfinal of his career, all they had to do was watch. Sonego had made extraordinary points throughout the tournament.
But on Wednesday, points like that weren’t enough for Sonego to overtake Shelton. Shelton has been a slow-simmering talent on tour for the past few years, and now he appears ready to boil over and perhaps even move closer to the top of the ATP rankings.
Jannik sinnerthe No. 1 seed and reigning Aussie Open champion, had an easier time against the No. 8 seed Alex de Minaur. As the final Australian stood in the men’s and women’s singles, the crowd was firmly on De Minaur’s side, but Sinner still cruised to a 6-3, 6-2, 6-1 victory in less than two hours.
Now Shelton, appearing in his second career Grand Slam semi-final and first Australian open semi-final, will face world No. 1. And unfortunately, history is not on his side. Sinner played 14 Americans in Grand Slam tournaments and beat every one of them. Although the odds are stacked against him, Shelton will try to secure a victory in the United States and appear in his first ever Grand Slam final.
Then, of course, in the final, Shelton is expected to play either Novak Djokovic or Alexander Zverev, who face each other in the other semifinal match on Friday.
Earlier on Wednesday, American No. 12 seed Madison Keys reached the semifinals, where she will face No. 2 seed Iga Swiatek. In the other semifinal, No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka will face No. 11 Paula Badosa.
