Australian Open, Sonego exits in the quarterfinals. Sinner overwhelms De Minaur 3-0 and is in the semi-finals

Lorenzo Sonego’s adventure at the Australian Open ends in the quarter-finals: the Turin player, number 55 ATP, was defeated by the American Ben Shelton, 21st seeded and 20th in the world ranking, who won in four sets with the score was 6-4, 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (4), in almost 4 hours of a hard-fought match in which the blue player, perhaps, would have deserved more.

The hypothesis of an all-Italian semi-final therefore fades away: it will be Shelton, in fact, who will challenge Jannik Sinner, world number one, who swept away the Australian Alex De Minaur, eighth seed and favorite of the local public, winning 3-0 (6-3, 6-2, 6-1) in an hour and 50 minutes of play. The blue team was too strong and remained an insurmountable obstacle for De Minaur. With today’s match Sinner leads 10-0 in head-to-head matches. The first semi-final, scheduled for Friday morning, will be between Djokovic, who surprisingly eliminated Alcaraz, and Zverev, who got rid of Paul.

Sonego, “I’m satisfied, I’ve made some improvements”

“It was nice to see the crowd getting excited and cheering. Almost everyone was on my side and it was a great feeling.” This is how Lorenzo Sonego comments on Supertennis about his defeat in the quarter-finals of the Australian Open against Brian Shelton. “I think I’m a different player compared to last year, I’ve improved and I feel better on the court. I have a clearer game, with more ideas. I’ve made improvements in my backhand and in my return”, added the Italian tennis player. “Maybe the break at 5-5 changed the match a bit, today it was difficult to smash and close the volleys because it was windy. Then today he made very few mistakes, much credit to him who was continuous in responding and when reading the directions. I’m still satisfied with what I did,” Sonego explained. “Now I have to continue on this path, improve and not sit back because this is only the beginning of the season. I have to try to reach the best I can and this can only be done with work,” he said. “Advice to Sinner on Shelton? I think Jannik knows what to do, he is the number 1 in the world. I wish him good luck because I think he deserves to win this tournament”, he concluded.

Sinner, “I’m fine, I’ve recovered”

“I’m fine, I felt good, then when you get the break at the start of the set everything becomes easier, even if he’s someone who always competes great.” These are Jannik Sinner’s first words after his success over Alex De Minaur in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open. The world number 1 made it to the semi-final and put the illness he suffered in the round of 16 behind him, beating the home fans’ favorite without any problems. “I know that many of you were for him, but you were sporting and the atmosphere was extraordinary – says Sinner addressing the audience -. We know each other well with Alex, we have faced each other several times, we try to prepare the matches based on our respective characteristics, you have to be careful because a small drop is enough and the match can change.”

Sinner says he is “very satisfied with the performance” provided and explains how he recovered after the illness he suffered in the round of 16 during the match against Rune. “Yesterday was a quiet day. I dribbled for 30-40 minutes with my coaches who evidently gave me a good rhythm, but when you’re young you recover very quickly”, jokes the South Tyrolean. “As I already said, I really like to sleep, I tried to rest as much as possible, relax and be ready. This morning I woke up well, I gained confidence throughout the day and the result was excellent. I have an expert team, they know how to manage me, their contribution is fundamental”, says Sinner who didn’t give up watching the match between Djokovic and Alcaraz.

“An extraordinary match, it’s a shame it was only a quarter-final, it’s a match worth a semi-final or a final, at the moment it’s the best rivalry there is in tennis, I saw great exchanges and this extraordinary crowd created a special environment”, explains Sinner who focuses on Shelton. “It will be a tough semi-final, we have played tough matches between us many times, he serves well, he is a left-footed player, he also does well from deep, I hope to be able to respond in the best possible way and stay focused like today, in the hope that it will be a good match for you in the audience too”, concluded the world number 1.