John Isner predicts if Ben Shelton will beat Jannik Sinner at the Australian Open

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Ben Shelton and Jannik Sinner will reunite at the Australian Open once more as they go head-to-head at the quarterfinal stage.

Sinner beat Shelton in the semifinals of the 2025 Australian Open, before going on to lift the trophy for the second successive year.

The Italian is now chasing a third consecutive title in Melbourne, with ATP number seven Shelton the next player standing in his way of victory at the Australian Open once more.

Sinner has been backed for Australian Open success, having already claimed four Grand Slam titles from his impressive career so far.

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John Isner thinks Ben Shelton has a chance against Jannik Sinner

His next clash has now been previewed by former player John Isner, who was asked on the Nothing Major Show if he thinks Shelton has a chance of knocking out the two-time defending champion.

Isner said: “He does. I do think that he is closing the gap a little bit, just by virtue of how well he is playing in my mind so far at the Australian Open.

“But I don’t think he is there yet. I just don’t.

“I didn’t want to say it the other day, because the match-up had not materialised yet, but the unlucky one from roof gate if you want to call it that, was Ben Shelton.

“Because that would have been Ben’s draw and you would like him to take advantage of that, had Sinner not been able to get through.

“But alas I think it’s really tough for Ben, because we saw Sinner got a huge reprieve at Wimbledon against [Grigor] Dimitrov, being down two sets to love and it was a very similar thing here at the Australian Open.

“He could have, should have been out if they had kept the roof open and the heat meter hadn’t hit five, so it feels like Sinner is playing with house money like he was at Wimbledon and he started to roll after this Dimitrov match.

“I do think it will be a good match, maybe four sets, but I think Sinner rolls on.”

Ben Shelton vs Jannik Sinner head-to-head before Australian Open clash

Both Sinner and Shelton have impressed at the Australian Open thus far, although the former did get a lucky break in round three.

Sinner suffered from cramps against Eliot Spizzirri, before the heat rule came into play and forced the closure of the roof.

He battled from a set down to come out on top, while he was two sets down to Dimitrov at Wimbledon last year before the Bulgarian retired hurt.

Sinner has since knocked out Luciano Darderi, while Shelton has overcome the likes of Casper Ruud and Valentin Vacherot.

But the American is now certain to face his toughest test yet, particularly given his worrying record against the world number two.

Sinner and Shelton have met nine times on the ATP Tour so far, with the Italian winning eight of those matches.

Remarkably, the American triumphed in their very first meeting, but since then it has been complete and utter dominance from his rival.

Even if he does pull off a major upset at the Australian Open, the winner of Novak Djokovic versus Lorenzo Musetti awaits, before a potential final clash with world number one Carlos Alcaraz.