"Ben Shelton needs a new coach now";"Ruthless self-destruction" - Fans react to American's 'disasterclass' in Jannik Sinner loss at Australian Open

Ben Shelton had to settle for a disappointing 6-7(2), 2-6, 2-6 defeat at the hands of Jannik Sinner in the semifinals of the 2025 Australian Open. The American's display prompted reactions from several tennis fans, who voiced their opinions on what went wrong for him against the World No. 1 and defending Australian Open champion.

Shelton got off to a bright start, breaking Sinner in the opening game of the match. Even though the Italian recovered later in the set, the American eventually found himself with two set points. Unfortunately, he couldn't make the most of them, and the World No. 1 ruthlessly punished him in the tiebreak that soon followed. In the second and third sets, Shelton was no match for the Italian as the latter ultimately cruised to a straight-set win.

Australian Open SF: [1] J.Sinner def. [21] B.Shelton 7-6(2) 6-2 6-2 byu/TAA_verymuch intennis

Some tennis fans on Reddit suggested that Ben Shelton could have taken advantage of Jannik Sinner on the day. The Italian's general level of play was not at its best, particularly in the first set. Had the American capitalized on the set points and clinched it, it may have put the Italian under significant pressure. One fan even argued that Shelton's father and coach Bryan should now make way for someone else.

"For the love of God Ben needs a new coach now. He can beat everyone he should, but now he needs a new tactical mindset and psychological approach and Bryan just ain’t gonna cut it at this level (Ben’s already eclipsed his dad’s career)," commented one fan.

"Kinda ruthless self destruction of Shelton at 6:5 own serve in the first.. Not that it would have changed much but he should have won that set," another added.

"Tactical disasterclass from Shelton today. Sinner was unplayable against Demon (Alex de Minaur, in the quarterfinals) and there wasn't much anyone could do about it, fair enough. But he's not at that level today and isn't moving as well, Shelton could've put up a much better fight after the first set but instead just handed it over," wrote another fan.

Here are some more reactions to Ben Shelton's 2025 Australian Open semifinal loss to Sinner:

"As much as Sinner has been unplayable this tournament, he wasn’t this match. He’s given Ben quite a lot of chances to be honest, which Ben squandered all by himself. And people have pointed out to me that Ben had to make all those UEs (unforced errors) due to high risk—high reward tactics, but you can’t tell me he had to DF (double fault) on all those BPs and deuces. Jannik looked quite below his usual unbeatable level. Will be interesting to see what Zverev will bring against him on Sunday," stated one fan.

"That first set man. It was so good and Shelton had it in the bag, but fumbled it away," another chimed in.

"Poor Shelton missed every opportunity for a comeback," weighed in yet another fan.

Ben Shelton has now lost on five consecutive occasions to Jannik Sinner. His sole win over the Italian came in the pair's very first ATP Tour-level meeting at the 2023 Rolex Shanghai Masters.

"Uncharacteristic for me not to come through and win that" - Ben Shelton on first-set collapse against Jannik Sinner in Australian Open SF

Ben Shelton (left) and Jannik Sinner (right) after the conclusion of their 2025 Australian Open men's singles semifinal (Source: Getty)

Ben Shelton started his post-match press conference by expressing his disappointment at not having made the most of his opportunities that came his way to put pressure on Jannik Sinner in their 2025 Australian Open semifinal clash. The American, whose serve is widely regarded as his biggest weapon on the tennis court, critically failed to see things out in the first set, which eventually set the tone for the rest of the match.

"Yeah, honestly, really disappointed. You know going into the match that playing Jannik's a tough ask but for me, I've made my living on tour so far serving out sets and being able to serve out sets. Having two set points on my serve, serving at 6-5, feel like, uncharacteristic for me not to come through and win that and with the No. 1 player in the world with the chances, the windows are always small," Ben Shelton said.

The American has now lost both the Grand Slam semifinals he managed to reach. His first semifinal outing at a Major came at the 2023 US Open, where he was beaten in straight sets by eventual champion Novak Djokovic.

Meanwhile, Sinner, the top-ranked men's singles tennis player in the world, is now set to lock horns with World No. 2 Alexander Zverev in the 2025 Australian Open men's singles final. Zverev reached his third Grand Slam final after Djokovic shockingly retired mid-match during the pair's semifinal showdown.