Sinner races into semis as Swiatek closes on first Melbourne crown

MELBOURNE: Defending champion Jannik Sinner raced into the Australian Open semi-finals on Wednesday in imperious fashion after Iga Swiatek was equally ruthless to close on a first Melbourne crown.

Italian world number one Sinner swept aside an out-classed home hope Alex de Minaur 6-3, 6-2, 6-1 to silence Rod Laver Arena and set up a meeting with 21st seed Ben Shelton. The other semi-final is between 10-time Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic and world number two Alexander Zverev, with both taking place on Friday.

Sinner had dizzy spells in the scorching heat of the afternoon during his four-set win against Holger Rune on Monday. But in much cooler evening conditions the 23-year-old was back to his brilliant best against eighth seed De Minaur, who has still never beaten Sinner in 10 matches.

“Today I felt like I was feeling everything,” said Sinner. “Days like this and you break quite early in each set, it´s a little bit easier.” Sinner is bidding to defend a Grand Slam title for the first time after beating Daniil Medvedev in the final last year. He also won the US Open last year.

De Minaur admitted he had no answers on the night, saying: “He was bloody good tonight.” The 22-year-old American Shelton booked his place in the semi-finals in Melbourne for the first time with a battling 6-4, 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (7/4) win over unseeded Italian Lorenzo Sonego.

Left-hander Shelton put in an all-action display to match his best performance at a major, having reached the US Open semi-finals in 2023. Shelton unleashed the joint-fastest serve of the tournament, a monster ace clocked at 232kph (144mph), and afterwards turned his fire on the post-match televised interviews that the winners do on court.

“I feel like broadcasters should be helping us grow our sport and help these athletes who just won matches on the biggest stage to enjoy one of their biggest moments,” he said. He labelled some of the interviews “embarrassing” and “disrespectful”.

Five-time Grand Slam champion Swiatek edged closer to a first Australian Open crown with an emphatic 6-1, 6-2 victory over American eighth seed Emma Navarro on a gusty Rod Laver Arena.

The 23-year-old world number two, who is building up a head of steam, plays American 19th seed Madison Keys in the women´s semi-finals, which both take place on Thursday. Two-time defending champion and top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka plays Spain´s 11th seed Paula Badosa for the other final berth.

Swiatek looks ominous. She has yet to lose a set and has dropped only 14 games in her five matches -- seven of those in her first-round clash against Katerina Siniakova. “Madison is a great player and experienced so you never know,” Swiatek cautioned.

“It will be tricky, I will just be focused on myself. She has already played a good tournament here and we are well aware of how she can play.” Swiatek enjoyed a moment of good fortune at 2-2 in the second set against Navarro.

Navarro played a drop shot that forced the Pole into a desperate slide to get the ball, which she thought she did, until replays showed it bounced twice. The American was left miffed when she requested the chair umpire use video review to check what happened.

But she was denied for waiting until the end of the point, rather than immediately challenging and stopping play. “It´s tough. I think we should be able to see it afterwards and make that call,” said Navarro.

Keys stormed back from a set down to beat Ukraine´s Elina Svitolina 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 in their quarter-final. Keys moved into the last four at Melbourne Park for the third time, 10 years after her first.

“It feels great. I´m really, really proud of myself to be in another semi-final here and kind of hoping and looking forward to see if I can make it one step further,” she said. Keys, who will be 30 next month, is on a 10-match unbeaten streak after lifting the Adelaide title.