Ben Shelton Through to Face Lucky Survivor Jannik Sinner
Wimbledon
July 8, 2025
Ben Shelton must fancy his chances of causing an upset after his explosive disposal of Lorenzo Sonego at Wimbledon 2025.
That’s because his opponent, Jannik Sinner knows he is a very lucky man to remain in the tournament at all.
The world number one was two sets down to Grigor Dimitrov when disaster struck for the Bulgarian veteran.
Dimitrov either ruptured or tore a pectoral muscle while serving to draw level at 2-2 in the third. Suddenly that was that.
Somehow Sinner had survived from 3-6, 5-7 down without going the route of a gruelling five-set comeback.
And there was little to suggest Jannik would have won in that theoretical marathon scenario anyway.
He had sustained an elbow injury early in the contest – and did at least appear to be recovering when the match came to a premature end.
But Sinner admitted of his own problem: ‘It was an unfortunate fall. I checked the video and it didn’t seem a tough one.
‘But I still felt it a lot during serve and forehands especially.’
He’ll have a scan to make sure he has sustained no serious underlying problem before his next big showdown.
Ben Shelton looks in much better shape than Jannik Sinner overall – and could even prevail if he can win the psychological battles on the big occasion.
The 22-year-old thrilled the crowd with the way he rounded off his 3-6, 6-1, 7-6 (7-1), 7-5 victory over Sonego. And he later revealed that he had impressed himself too.
Shelton said: ‘That last game was my best tennis and gives me confidence going forward.’
He fired one sizzling winner straight through Sonego’s legs while falling to the floor back on the baseline.
And he pushed another spectacular winner deep into the corner while his forward momentum took him round the net.
Shelton leapt into the air in triumph as the crowd roared their approval. He seems to be very much in his element at Wimbledon 2025.
Sinner will know the huge energy he must counter. Yet he might feel free of tension after surviving against the odds – and could come out determined to show his class against the American.
Ben Shelton will ensure there are plenty of fireworks and a hugely entertaining match for spectators to enjoy!
Meanwhile another Italian has become the unlikely dark horse at the quarter-final stage of Wimbledon 2025.
Flavio Cobolli defeated Jack Draper’s conqueror, the veteran Marin Cilic 6-4, 6-4, 6-7 (4-7), 7-6 (7-3) – to set up an intriguing quarter-final against the legendary Novak Djokovic.
The Serb saw off Alex de Minaur in four sets and is still dreaming of that historic 25th Grand Slam.
Meanwhile Mirra Andreeva became the youngest player to reach the last eight for eighteen years – and didn’t even know she had beaten Emma Navarro.
The eighteen-year-old, who plays Belinda Bencic next, explained: ‘In the end I completely forgot the score and I’m happy I did because I would have been three times more nervous on match point.’
Iga Swiatek takes on Liudmila Samsonova in the quarters as the Pole continues to fly in under the radar.