Ben Shelton Books Maiden Australian Open Semi-Final After Spirited Win Over Sonego
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Ben Shelton is now a semi-finalist at two different majors after beating Lorenzo Sonego at the 2025 Australian Open.
In 2023, Shelton first left the United States, and what a debut on foreign soil it was for him when he reached the quarter-finals of the Australian Open.
In the same season, he also made it to the semi-finals of the US Open, but last year, the American player couldn't get past the fourth round at any of the majors.
In 2025, he's been off to a great start, beating one opponent after another in Melbourne. Although Shelton started the season with a loss, it didn't hinder him at all at the Australian Open.
He bested Brandon Nakashima, Pablo Carreno-Busta, Lorenzo Musetti, and Gael Monfils to reach the quarter-finals. His opponent, Lorenzo Sonego, outplayed Stan Wawrinka, Joao Fonseca, Fabian Marozsan, and Learner Tien to set up this meeting.
The two had met twice before. Their first match went to three sets before Shelton won it in Cincinnati in 2022, and in 2023, Sonego proved to be the better clay-court player in a four-set battle at the French Open.
This time, the surface certainly suited the American player more, and he wanted to make good use of it. But he was the one to face first break points in the match. In the sixth game of the first set, Shelton had to face a total of three break points.
It was the longest game of the set, but the American player saved all of the break points, which came in handy only a few minutes later. Shelton created three break chances himself at 4-4, and after using the third one, he led 5-4.
For someone with Shelton's serve, serving out the first set was not a challenging task, as he won it 6-4. He carried the momentum also to the second set, as he had two break points already in the first game.
Although he couldn't use those chances, and he couldn't use another break point at 2-2 either, he finally used his chance at 3-3 to break. Leading 5-4, Shelton was serving for the set, but this time, he failed to get over the finish line.
Sonego broke back and leveled the score at 5-all, but that didn't last long. Shelton broke the Italian's serve once again and then overcame a 0-30 deficit on his serve to win the second set 7-5.
Both players were nearly perfect on their serve in the third set, and it seemed that it would have to be decided in a tie-break. But 4-5 down, despite leading 4-5, Shelton felt the pressure, and his opponent saw a chance.
Sonego got to a set point, but he couldn't use it. At least not initially. The Italian player kept fighting, found a way to another set point, and broke Shelton's serve to win the third set 6-4.
Both players had a chance to break in the fourth set, but this time, the set really reached a tie-break, which was a real battle. Ultimately, Shelton was the better player, winning the match 6-4, 7-5, 4-6, 7-6(4) to reach his maiden Australian Open semi-final.
His next opponent will be the winner of the match between the ATP World No. 1 Jannik Sinner and the home crowd favorite Alex de Minaur.
