Sinner dismisses health fears to reach semis

Defending champion Jannik Sinner defeated local hope Alex de Minaur in the Australian Open semi-finals, successfully advancing. Previously, Sinner had been the focus of attention due to physical discomfort, but he was in good condition during the match, defeating the 8th seed de Minaur with a score of 6-3, 6-2, 6-1.

After being sick and seeking medical attention for two days, Sinner stated that he felt "ready" when he woke up on Wednesday. He denied speculation that he had pneumonia and said that the blood test results after his fourth-round match were "all good." Sinner said, "I think the illness is gone. I felt much better this morning. Young people recover quickly, so the situation is different."

The 23-year-old Italian will face American player Ben Shelton in the semi-finals on Friday. The 22-year-old Shelton, in a fierce battle with Italian player Lorenzo Sonego, reached the Melbourne semi-finals for the first time with a score of 6-4, 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (7-4). Previously, Australian fans had high expectations that de Minaur could cause an upset, especially considering Sinner's uncertain physical condition.

Sinner looked pale and visibly trembled on his chair when he defeated Rune in the fourth round, and benefited from a mandatory 20-minute break when the net broke. But in this match, Sinner showed a healthy demeanor, proving once again that he was a cut above de Minaur. He hit the ball accurately and consistently, outperforming de Minaur in multiple rallies, and broke serve six times, only allowing de Minaur one break point in the second set, which fully demonstrated his dominance.

After the match, Sinner said he was "very relaxed" on Tuesday, only training with his coach for "half an hour or 40 minutes" to maintain his rhythm. "I felt ready today," Sinner added. "When you play at night, you try to sleep a little longer and eat healthier." De Minaur had a poor record against Sinner previously, losing all nine of their previous encounters and only winning one set.

The 25-year-old Australian hoped to end this poor record and become the first local player to reach the men's singles semi-finals since 2005. But the cool weather in Melbourne at night failed to create the expected boisterous atmosphere. Sinner's steady performance kept most of the 15,000 spectators in the stadium silent. "Right now, the toughest opponent for me on the tour is Jannik. The head-to-head record doesn't lie," de Minaur said. "In these slightly cold conditions, you can't really hit the ball out of his hitting zone, he can hit the ball effortlessly and without making mistakes. It's tough."

Shelton was two sets up on Rod Laver Arena, but his form declined, allowing unseeded Sonego to drag the match into a fourth set. The two were evenly matched in this set, playing some wonderful rallies, before Shelton's powerful serve helped him win the subsequent tie-break. Shelton served at speeds of up to 144 miles per hour in this match and said he felt "relieved" to have advanced. "Hats off to Lorenzo because his tennis was amazing," added the 21st seed Shelton after the 3-hour and 50-minute quarter-final.

Both players benefited from the quarter that was left open after the early exits of top seeds Taylor Fritz, Daniil Medvedev, and Andrey Rublev. Friday's semi-final will be Shelton's second semi-final experience in a singles Grand Slam, having lost to eventual champion Novak Djokovic in the 2023 US Open semi-finals.