Sinner aiming to be ‘better, stronger’ in Australian Open semi

MELBOURNE: Jannik Sinner insists nothing is being taken for granted ahead of his Australian Open semi-final, with the world number one warning that he is constantly striving to get “better and stronger”.

The Italian top seed faces Ben Shelton on Friday, just two matches away from a first successful Grand Slam title defence after winning his maiden major crown in Melbourne last year. That sparked a breakthrough season in which he won eight titles, including the US Open and ATP Finals, to open a chasm between himself and number two Alexander Zverev in the rankings.

He has drawn level with fellow Italian great Nicola Pietrangeli on five Grand Slam singles semi-finals, and with that comes experience of the big occasion. American 21st-seed Shelton will be making only his second last-four appearance at a major after his run at the 2023 US Open, where he was beaten by eventual champion Novak Djokovic.

“I´ve been in these situations already sometimes now,” said 23-year-old Sinner. “But you know, at the end of the day, every match, it starts with 0-0 and you just try to do your best. This is the only thing I can control.

“If someone plays better than me that day, I can´t really do anything. We never take things for granted. “We are here trying to understand every situation, trying to get better and stronger, and then we see how it goes. Not only here, but also for the rest of the season.”

The nature of Sinner´s commanding thrashing of Alex de Minaur in the quarter-finals on Wednesday was a reminder of the level he has hit regularly across the past 12 months, after struggling with illness in his fourth-round match.