London [UK], July 8 (ANI): The World No. 1 Jannik Sinner produced one the enthralling performances on Court 1 to dismiss dangerous 14th seed Ben Shelton 6-2, 6-4, 7-6(9), reaching the quarter-finals at Wimbledon for the third consecutive year.
The 22-year-old is the first Italian man in history to make the last eight at Wimbledon three times. In a two-hour and eight-minute clash, the 14th seed only won 70 per cent of his first-serve points and lost four service games.
Sinner will next play fifth-seed Daniil Medvedev in the quarter-final clash.
“That was a very tough match, especially the third set. These matches can go very long so I’m very happy to close it out in three sets in such an amazing atmosphere. The quarter-finals of a Grand Slam is always a privilege to play. Hopefully it will be good to watch,” Sinner said after the match as quoted by Wimbledon.
The Italian dominated rallies of zero to four shots by an 81-62 margin and pushed his opponent behind the baseline during many rallies. During the match, Shelton’s dictation to start the serve and control the action was at its best however World No. 1 took back control of the match slamming some aggressive shots. Till the third set, Shelton’s renowned mental resilience started to run low.
After retrieving the break in the third set, the Italian thrilled the crowd at 4-5, 40/30 with an improved forward-facing half-volley off a perfect return from Shelton.
The World No. 1 eventually wrapped up a point with a forehand passing shot, making his place in the quarter-finals.
Meanwhile, Carlos Alcaraz passed another significant test as he moved past free-hitting Ugo Humbert 6-3, 6-4, 1-6, 7-5 to reach his ninth major quarter-final.
In a hard-fought match, Humbert outplayed Alcaraz for long stretches, but the Spaniard produced trademark flashes of magic at vital times to hold off the 16th seed and move within three wins of successfully defending his Wimbledon championship. (ANI)
