Sinner has been the dominant men’s player for the past 18 months and this performance – when he was not 100% fit – was another example of why.
A below-par display against Dimitrov went unpunished when the luckless Bulgarian popped a pectoral muscle in the third set.
If it felt like Sinner had been given a lifeline, he certainly made the most of it against Shelton.
Sinner’s serve speed dropped against Dimitrov because of his injury, but it was back up to 125mph – more in tune with his tournament average – and the added pace combined with his precision spelt trouble for Shelton.
The huge-serving American, who has become a fan favourite at the All England Club over the past fortnight, won only one receiving point before the opening-set tie-break.
Then, in the tie-break, he was lured into Sinner’s trap.
Unsuccessfully going for broke, the under-pressure Shelton lamped aggressive groundstrokes in a bid to break down Sinner.
Neither player created a break point in the opening set, but Shelton earned two immediately in the second thanks to improvements in his return game.
While he could not take either, Shelton earned another half chance at 4-3 with more pressure being particularly applied on Sinner’s second serve.
But Sinner survived and turned the tables on Shelton in the very next game. Shelton continued to hammer down serves at more than 140mph but was still broken after Sinner soaked up the pace and turned defence into attack with his relentless returning.
It was a similar pattern in the third set. Both players continued to dominate service games before Sinner upped the ante again with a decisive break as Shelton served to stay in the match.