Tim Henman stressed what Ben Shelton needed to do more against Jannik Sinner at the Australian Open.
The American contested his second Grand Slam semi-final and a first at Melbourne Park, and he faced the tough task of dethroning the defending champion.
The 22-year-old made a promising start, and served for the first set, but he failed to take advantage as Sinner came roaring back and won the tiebreak to take the lead.
Ben Shelton was then unable to produce the consistent level needed to trouble his opponent again, as he won just four more games for the rest of the contest as Jannik Sinner advanced the final once again.
Tim Henman assesses Ben Shelton’s gameplan against Jannik Sinner at the Australian Open
Shelton possesses one of the biggest serves on the ATP Tour and Tim Henman thinks he is not using it as effectively as he can.
The 21st seed made just 59% of his first serves against Sinner in the Australian Open semi-final. This was Shelton’s joint lowest serving percentage of the tournament, which he also achieved against Brandon Nakashima in round one.
This hampered Shelton’s chances of success against Sinner, who is one of the best returners on tour. Furthermore, he came to the net just 25 times, and Henman stressed Shelton needed to do it more often to boost his chances of success against Sinner.
“His biggest weapon is his first serve and I don’t think he uses it as well as he can,” Henman told Eurosport. “They played probably 210 or 215 points in the match in total, half of those are going to be on his serve.
“He served and volleyed three times in the whole match. He came to the net 25 times, when he came to the net he won 17 points. So that is close to 70% but in the context of 215 points, coming to the net 25 times – that is one in nine.
“I think this is where he is so young, he has so many weapons, there are so many pieces of the puzzle but to me he has got to use them a little bit better.
“Going toe to toe at the back of the court against Sinner I think is the toughest task for anyone and that to me is not Shelton’s game style.”
Jannik Sinner sets a new win streak after reaching Australian Open final
Sinner is back into the Australian Open final and his latest victory means he has won his last 20 matches, dating back to the start of the Shanghai Masters in October 2024.
This is now the longest win streak of his career, beating the 19 successive wins he managed from the 2023 Davis Cup to the 2024 Indians Wells Masters.
Sinner is looking to stretch this streak to 21 victories when he takes on Alexander Zverev in the final at Melbourne Park.
The Italian is looking for his second successive Australian Open title and fourth overall, while Zverev is searching for the first major of his career.
This will be the pair’s first meeting since an epic Cincinnati Open semi-final in August 2024, which Sinner won 7-6(9) 5-7 7-6(4) on the way to claiming the title.
Receive exclusive tennis news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
