Jannik Sinner moved a step closer to regaining the world number one ranking with victory over Ben Shelton in the Paris Masters quarter-finals.
Carlos Alcaraz’s shock early loss to Cameron Norrie means Sinner can overtake him by winning the tournament, and the Italian is a clear favourite despite not being at his freshest physically.
Sinner again looked stiff early in the match against Shelton, but he has now beaten the American seven times in a row and he was rarely troubled in a 6-3 6-3 victory.
“I’m very happy,” said Sinner to Sky Sports. “It was a very, very tough match.
“You know this before the match against Ben, at times you don’t have a lot of control because of his incredible serving, but today I felt like I was returning very well. Also from the back of the court I played very solid and also very aggressive.”
Sinner had one minor wobble in the middle of the second set when he dropped serve and gestured animatedly towards his team, but he quickly reestablished his advantage and wrapped up victory after only 69 minutes.
He said of the prospect of overhauling Alcaraz: “At the moment I’m not thinking about the ranking. It’s a consequence of how I’m playing.
“We go day by day. Every day you have very difficult challenges coming up. Making semis here in Paris means a lot. It has been a very long season with some great, great results and I never take these results for granted.”
This is Sinner’s first time in the semi-finals in the French capital, while it will be a first appearance in the last four at Masters level for Alexander Bublik.
The 13th seed was emotional after securing a 6-7 (5) 6-4 7-5 victory over Alex De Minaur and he will next face Felix Auger-Aliassime, who ended the run of Shanghai Masters champion Valentin Vacherot with a 6-2 6-2 win.
Sinner’s last four opponent will be defending champion Alexander Zverev, who saved two match points in a gritty 2-6 6-3 7-6 (5) win against Daniil Medvedev, ending a five-match losing streak against the Russian.
