Sinner breezes past Shelton in straight sets to progress to the quarter-finals in Shanghai

 ROME - Italian Jannick Sinner has progressed to the quarter-finals of the Masters 1000 in Shanghai for the first time in his career after beating American Ben Shelton 6-3 7-6. The two met in the tournament's round of 16 last year with Shelton coming out victorious. However, so far this year it is Sinner who has won all three encounters between the pair, with Shelton yet to even win a single set.  

 Although the match was wrapped up within two sets, Shelton did cause some problems for Sinner. In the first set Sinner struggled to tame Shelton’s big serve, meaning the American won all 16 of his first service points. However, at 4-4, Sinner kicked into sixth gear, breaking Shelton’s service to make it 5-4 and then claiming the first set with an emphatic ace. 

 In the second set the opponents continued to display the highest quality of tennis, taking the set to a tie-break after neither player was able to break their opponent’s serve. Shelton won the first point, but Sinner proved why he is the number one ranked player in the world, utilizing his ferocious backhand which Shelton found impossible to return.  

 Sinner’s progression to the quarter-finals keeps alive his goal of ending the season as world number one. The Italian will face the winner of Danil Medvedev and Stefanos Tsitsipas.

tjpw