Recently retired ATP player explains what makes Jannik Sinner so difficult to play against

Follow us on Google Discover

Jannik Sinner kept up his flawless undefeated streak at the ATP Finals after beating Ben Shelton in straight sets.

Sinner, who has yet to drop a set in Turin, ended Shelton‘s season by defeating him 6-3, 7-6, securing an eighth consecutive victory over the American.

Prior to the match, the world number two had already topped the Bjorn Borg group, which also consists of Alexander Zverev and Felix Auger-Aliassime.

In the semifinals, Sinner will now face Alex de Minaur, whom he has never lost to in each of their 12 tour-level meetings.

The Italian looks unstoppable at the moment, and recently retired British player Kyle Edmund explained on Sky Sports what makes him so hard to beat.

Kyle Edmund reacts to Jannik Sinner’s win over Ben Shelton

Reacting to Sinner’s win, Edmund said: “He is just relentless with his play. Forehand and backhand. Because he slides off both left and right legs, it’s very hard to get him with one hand on the racket, as in slicing.

“So when you are moving him to the side, he is just sliding into the shot and hitting it back.

“It feels like whenever you are trying to take the racket out of his hand, you are taking a risk. And you can’t keep the risk up for the whole match.

“Maybe you win a couple of points, but he is just relentless with his shots. Even Ben is a dangerous player, but it’s so hard to get Jannik off balance.

“Disrupting Jannik’s rhythm is a good tactic, but it’s one thing saying it and then doing it because Jannik loves the rhythm when the ball is at the baseline, side to side, and he can do that all day, like we have seen in matches against Novak and Carlos.

“Ben’s game actually suits that, because he does like to serve and come forward, so that is unique compared to a lot of other players, but it’s one thing to say it and another to do it.”

Jannik Sinner extends his set streak against Ben Shelton

The last time Shelton managed to beat Sinner at an ATP Tour event came in 2023 at the Shanghai Masters.

Since then, Sinner has won every time they have clashed, but more impressively, he has not dropped a set to the US star since losing to him in Shanghai.

Sinner has won 19 consecutive sets against Shelton, nine of which have come in matches at Grand Slams.

He beat Shelton in the fourth round of Wimbledon in 2024, the semifinals of the Australian Open earlier this year, as well as the quarterfinals at the All England Club in the summer.

Shelton has forced Sinner to seven tiebreaks since he last beat him, but has not been able to get over the line in the shootouts.