Jannik Sinner tops Ben Shelton to reach Wimbledon semifinals - ESPN

Jannik Sinner didn't play like someone dealing with an injured right elbow Wednesday, using terrific serving and his usual booming forehand to dismiss 10th-seeded American Ben Shelton 7-6 (2), 6-4, 6-4 and earn a second appearance in the Wimbledon semifinals.

The No. 1-ranked Sinner wore a white sleeve on his right arm with strips of tape visible underneath — one above the elbow, one below it — two days after he was hurt when he slipped and fell in the opening game of his fourth-round match against Grigor Dimitrov.

Sinner, 23, said he felt pain when he hit serves or forehands in that contest, and he dropped the first two sets before moving into the quarterfinals when Dimitrov retired in the third set because he tore a chest muscle.

Sinner, a three-time Grand Slam champion from Italy and the runner-up to Carlos Alcaraz at the French Open last month, had an MRI exam on Tuesday and initially canceled a practice session that day but did hit some balls in a 20-minute session at an indoor court later.

«When you are in a match with a lot of tension, you try to not think about it,» said Sinner, who reached his fourth consecutive major semifinal and next faces either 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic or No. 22 Flavio Cobolli. «It has improved a lot from yesterday to today.»

The other time Sinner made it this far at the All England Club, in 2023, he was eliminated by Djokovic.

Against Shelton at No. 1 Court, Sinner came out as though not a thing were wrong, grabbing 27 of his 29 service points in the first set while accumulating a total of 15 winners to just one unforced error.

Still, Shelton stayed right with him until 2-all in the tiebreaker. That's when Sinner surged in front, helped by a double-fault and four