Jannik Sinner narrowly escaped defeat in the fourth-round of Wimbledon, as his opponent retired due to injury.
The Italian was dominant in his opening three matches, as Sinner advanced to the last 16 with the fewest games dropped of any player in Wimbledon history.
He then encountered a big stumbling block, named Grigor Dimitrov, who won the first two sets of their fourth-round match.
Unfortunately, Dimitrov suffered an injury in the third set and was unable to continue as Sinner booked his place in the quarterfinals.
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Reacting to Sinner’s uncharacteristically poor performance, one former tennis star predicted he would get in trouble with his coach, Darren Cahill.
Sam Querrey thinks Jannik Sinner ‘got in trouble’ with Darren Cahill after poor fourth-round performance
During the latest episode of Nothing Major, former Wimbledon semi-finalist Sam Querrey shared what he thinks happened in the locker room on Monday evening.
“[Jannik] Sinner is going to get a stern talking to in the locker room tonight,” he said.
“He is going to get in trouble from coach [Darren] Cahill and then just come out firing.”
Querrey believes Sinner will come out firing for his quarterfinal match with Ben Shelton on Wednesday.
“It is a tough one because Sinner can just get Ben’s serve back in play and just pepper Ben’s backhand on both sides,” he said.
Querrey’s co-host Steve Johnson was keen to weigh in with his thoughts on the Shelton/Sinner matchup.
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“I am going to go, Sinner, and tough luck for Ben,” he said.
“This is his fifth quarter-final, and he has played the number one or two ranked guy every time.”
“Sinner obviously not escaping this one by his own means, but he has got a couple of tough sets out of his system.
“You feel for Grigor [Dimitrov], but you are not going to see that slow of a start from Sinner in the next round.”
Both Querrey and Johnson are backing Sinner to extend his head-to-head advantage over the 22-year-old American.
Jannik Sinner and Ben Shelton’s head-to-head record
Sinner and Shelton have played one another six times previously, as the Italian leads the head-to-head 5-1.
Jannik Sinner and Ben Shelton’s head-to-head record
The pair faced off at Wimbledon 12 months ago, as Sinner defeated Shelton in three sets in their fourth-round match.
Shelton had struggled during the early goings but grew into the match and pushed Sinner close in a third-set tiebreak.
Eventually coming up short 2-6, 4-6, 6-7 [9-11], Shelton proved he could hang with Sinner on grass.
The American hasn’t beaten Sinner since their first career meeting in Shanghai two years ago, when Shelton fought back from a set down to reach the quarterfinals.
Losing their last five matches, Shelton will be determined to return to winning ways at the All England Club.
If he were to do so, he’d join an elite group of players who have reached multiple Grand Slam semi-finals in 2025.
Players to have reached multiple major semis in 2025
- Jannik Sinner (Australian Open – Winner, French Open – Finalist)
- Novak Djokovic (Australian Open – Semi-finalist, French Open – Semi-finalist)
There’s no doubt Shelton will be up against it when he takes on Sinner, although there is a slim chance he won’t even need to play the match.
Sinner suffered an injury during the first game of his fourth-round clash with Dimitrov and is now set for an MRI on his elbow.
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If the results are bad, Sinner could well be forced to withdraw from the tournament, handing Shelton a bye into the last four.
Shelton will try not to think about that, however, as he prepares to play Sinner in the quarterfinals on Wednesday, July 9.