Jannik Sinner has continued his winning streak at the Australian Open after beating Ben Shelton in straight sets.
Sinner did not think Shelton played his best, with the American unable to convert the single set point that he had in the first set.
This is the second consecutive match that the Italian has won in straight sets, with Sinner also beating Alex de Minaur in the quarter-finals.
However, it was definitely not a flawless performance from Sinner, who hit 26 unforced errors against Shelton.
Laura Robson says what has been scary about Jannik Sinner at the Australian Open
Despite Sinner continuing his dominance on hard courts, former British number one Laura Robson has also picked up on the world number one not playing at his best level.
In his fourth round match against Holger Rune, Sinner appeared to be feeling unwell and had to take a lengthy medical timeout during that match.
When speaking on Eurosport after the semi-final, Robson mentioned how scary it is that Sinner is much better than the rest of the ATP Tour even when not at his best.
“The scary thought is that I don’t think he even played his best match of the tournament there and he still won in straight sets and just over two and a half hours, which is absolutely all you can ask for if you are Jannik Sinner’s coach to go into a match like this and spend as little time as possible on court ahead of Sunday’s final,” explained Robson.
“I just never felt like it was going to get close. Every time Shelton got to 0-30 or had an inch to work with within a game it didn’t feel like he was going to be able to convert that because of how good Jannik is point by point and just never gives you any freebies.
“There were times when Ben was trying to lift himself up, especially in the third set, and had chances but they slip away so quickly. That is just the level of power and footwork and speed and ability to rush opponents that Sinner is bringing to the game these days.
“He probably played better a few days ago and he has been patchy at times throughout the tournament but his level of patchy is still 20 times better than most people’s tennis can ever be.”
Jannik Sinner breaks record after reaching back-to-back Australian Open finals
Sinner has won 13 consecutive matches at the Australian Open, and is now one win away from defending his title.
As a result, the 23-year-old has made history by becoming the youngest player to reach back-to-back finals at the Australian Open since Pete Sampras in 1995.
Sampras lost in that final to Andre Agassi that year, with it being Alexander Zverev who is in the way of Sinner and a second consecutive Australian Open title.
Zverev beat Djokovic via retirement in his semi-final to reach his third Grand Slam final and first at the Australian Open.
This match finished in controversial fashion, with 10-time champion Djokovic being booed on the Rod Laver Arena after he could no longer continue due to injury.
The Australian Open final is now set, with Sinner and Zverev playing for the first major title of 2025 on Sunday January 26.
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