Ben Shelton fought from a set down to defeat Casper Ruud on Monday, booking his place in the Australian Open quarter-finals.
The eighth seed looked to be in trouble after losing the first set 3-6. However, the American responded emphatically, claiming the next three sets 6-4, 6-3, 6-4.
Shelton faces Jannik Sinner in the quarter-finals, and the American has a trait that could help him defeat the two-time defending champion.
Tim Henman, who was commentating on Shelton’s match for TNT Sports, has weighed in on the American’s chances against Sinner, while highlighting a change Shelton could make to improve his chances of defeating the Italian star.
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Tim Henman says Ben Shelton needs to come to the net more often against Jannik Sinner
Henman, the former British number one, was known for excellent net play during his playing career, particularly when serving and volleying.
While watching Ben Shelton on Monday, the Brit suggested Shelton should adopt a similar style of play when facing Jannik Sinner.
When asked if Shelton’s game is good enough to challenge Sinner’s, Henman said: “Yes, I think it is.
“Just looking at the stats, Shelton’s won 25 of 26 points at the net. I think he’s got to do that more often and he’s got to have one of his best serving days.
“But we’ve played over 200 points. So he’s only coming to the net 13 per cent of the time, one in 10 rallies. I think that could be up to 20, 25 per cent. Breaks up the rhythm.”
Later in the commentary, Henman added: “Shelton now 28 of 29 points at the net. That’s a 97 per cent success rate.”
Henman’s analysis is accurate. It is very unlikely that Ben Shelton will be able to match Jannik Sinner from the baseline. Therefore, the American will need to take the initiative and dictate the tempo and variety of rallies if he is to defeat Sinner.
When asked about his superb net play in the post-match press conference, Shelton said: “Yeah, I think I made a lot of plays today and executed a lot of errors. Volleys I would have missed a while back.
“But I feel confident in my net play right now. I think I’m making great decisions, so I don’t have to overplay.I think I’m coming in on the right serves, on the right shots, choosing my moments correctly, and I think that’s why I’m winning a lot of points.
“I’m able to get close to the net. I’m able to exploit, you know, when my opponent is pretty far off the baseline and use the drop volley when I need to.I just thought my decision-making up there was really clean today.”
Ben Shelton’s record against Jannik Sinner
Ben Shelton’s record against Jannik Sinner is underwhelming to say the least.
Since defeating Sinner in their first match at the 2023 Shanghai Masters, Shelton has lost eight consecutive matches against the Italian star.
Who would win this legendary showdown?
Most recently, Sinner defeated Shelton in the 2025 ATP Finals round robin stage: 6-3, 7-6.
Remarkably, Shelton has also failed to win a single set against the Italian since defeating the world number two in 2023.
Since then, Shelton has lost seven tiebreak sets against Sinner, including a marathon 20-point tiebreak at the 2024 Wimbledon Championships.
As Tim Henman suggests, Shelton clearly needs to alter his tactical approach when playing Sinner, or else he may suffer the same fate yet again.
