Defending AO champion Jannik Sinner books spot in AO final with Alexander Zverev

He may be have been hobbling around on court but there was nothing stopping the deceiving Jannik Sinner from locking in his spot at the AO final. Now he has a chance to go back-to-back.

With Jannik Sinner, looks really are deceiving.

Tall and thin and always charmingly polite, the Italian gives the impression he wouldn’t harm a fly.

Except when he’s got a tennis racket in his hand.

All of a sudden, he transforms himself from a lightweight into a heavyweight, raining heavy blows on his hapless opponents before delivering the knockout punch.

He did it again at Rod Laver Arena on Friday, clobbering big-serving American Ben Shelton 7-6 6-2 6-2 to book himself a place in his second successive Australian Open final.

Jannik Sinner has a chance to defend his AO title. Picture: Martin KEEP / AFP

The defending champion, Sinner will now face Alexander Zverev of Germany in Sunday’s final at Melbourne Park, pitting the top two ranked players in the world against each other.

“It will be a very tough match. We had some tough matches in the past,” Sinner said.

“Everything can happen. He is an incredible player, he is looking for his first major and there is going to be a lot of tension again. But I’m happy to put myself in this position once again.

“Sundays are always very special, especially in tournaments. I’m going to enjoy it. Thank you so much again for your support, hopefully it’s going to be a good match.”

Against Shelton, Sinner wasn’t quite as brutal as he was in disposing of Australia’s last man standing, Alex de Minaur, in the quarters, but he still gave him a licking.

A left-hander who fires down rocket-serves over 220 km/h, Shelton is a tricky customer who is emerging as one of the best young players in the game.

At 22, he managed to give Sinner some trouble early on, breaking the top seed’s opening serve then fending off a break point to lead 2-0.

But that was as good as it got for Shelton, who was hampered by a leg injury that needed treatment between the second and third sets.

Sinner was too strong for Ben Shelton. Picture: Yuichi YAMAZAKI / AFP

His best chance came and went when he squandered two set points on his own serve then lost the opening set in the ensuing tie-breaker.

“It was a very tough first set but a very crucial one,” Sinner said.

“I felt like he wasn’t serving at his best today, the percentage wasn’t where he wanted it to be. I think we both actually returned better than we served.

“The first set is always very important, it gives you a lot of confidence and there was a lot of tension for both of us.

“I’m very happy with the way I handled the situation today. Obviously the support has been amazing, so thank you so much as always for coming. I’m happy to be back in the final here.”

Relentless when he’s in front, Sinner completely dominated the remainder of the contest to extend his unbeaten streak to 20 matches dating back to the final of the China in October last year.

Playing in his first Australian Open and just his second in the grand slams, Shelton’s best is still ahead of him. He has some of the tools to challenge the best but Sinner was just too good.

“I’m honestly really disappointed,” Shelton said.

“You’re playing the No. 1 player in the world, the chances, the windows are always small. Sometimes you miss your window, and the guy steps up his level, starts making a lot more first serves, playing better. The break chances don’t come as often.

“I thought I did some things well out there today. I think I’ll have to look at the statistics after the match. Probably one of my worst serving days in this tournament so far, which is disappointing, now being six matches into the tournament.”

Sinner will go into Sunday’s final as the strong favourite, although there are some questions about his health after he called on the trainer to bring him a bottle of pickle juice and treat his right thigh.

“There was just a lot of tension and I had some slight cramps,” Sinner said.

“Ben was also struggling a little bit in his legs today so I was trying to move him around and stay a little bit more aggressive, which helped a lot.

“These matches can go very long, three sets and two and a half hours is quite some time so I’m happy to finish it in three sets today. We will see what is coming on Sunday.”

It has the right ingredients for a classic, but with the added plot twist that both men have been embroiled in recent off-court controversies.

Sinner tested positive to a banned steroid last year but was cleared of an anti-doping breach after it was deemed the banned substance came from a cream his physiotherapist had used. Sinner denies any wrongdoing but his case remains under appeal.

Zverev has been accused of domestic abuse by a former girlfriend and mother of his child. He agreed to an out-of-court settlement last year but steadfastly denies the accusation and has also been cleared of any wrongdoing.

Still just 23 but with an Australian Open and a US Open title under his belt, Sinner is already the anointed leader of the new generation taking over from the retired Roger Federer, Rafa Nadal and the ageing Novak Djokovic.

Originally published as Defending AO champion Jannik Sinner books spot in AO final with Alexander Zverev