World number one Jannik Sinner quelled the challenge of big-serving 14th seed Ben Shelton with a 6-2, 6-4, 7-6(9) victory that sent him into the Wimbledon quarterfinals on Sunday.
Shelton, who has consistently sent down rockets on the slick turf at the Grand Slam this year, started aggressively under the Court One roof by serving and volleying in a bid to unsettle the Australian Open champion.
Sinner was equal to the task, however, and broke the feisty American twice to comfortably pocket the opening set.
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The Italian consolidated an early break in the second set with a booming ace and pulled away for a two-set advantage, as Shelton was left with another battle on his hands having been dragged the distance in each of his last three rounds.
The 21-year-old raised the hopes of fans by breezing ahead 4-1 in the third set but Sinner ran his opponent ragged with his power and precision to draw level after eight games and saved a breakpoint to force a tiebreak.
Shelton came from behind but squandered all four set points he earned, as Sinner held his nerve to secure the win and book a meeting with either fifth seed Daniil Medvedev or 10th seed Grigor Dimitrov.
