Shanghai Masters: Jannik Sinner winces in pain after awkwardly hitting himself with racket against Ben Shelton
Jannik Sinner accidentally inflicted pain on himself during his fourth-round match against Ben Shelton on Tuesday, October 10, at the Shanghai Masters.
Shelton defeated Sinner 2-6, 6-3, 7-6(5) in the closely-fought contest. He bettered the Italian with a staggering 15 aces and two breaks of serve. The match lasted for two hours and 32 minutes.
Apart from the embarrassment of the loss, Sinner had another awkward moment during the evening. He swung his racket in a bid to hit a backhand slice during a volley but ended up knocking his kneecap. The World No. 4 rubbed his knee and hobbled for a couple of steps as seen in the video below.
Jannik Sinner started the match on a high by securing the first set easily. He sent down five aces to unsettle Ben Shelton, who committed three double faults. Both players collected five unforced errors during the set.
Shelton responded strongly in the following set as he hit eight pacy aces and 15 winners to send the match into the third set. Sinner committed four more unforced errors to extend his labor for the day.
The final set went down to the wire with both youngsters holding their serves. In the end, however, it was Shelton who edged ahead in the tiebreak. Sinner saved a total of eight break points which was still not enough to earn a place in the quarterfinals of the 2023 Shanghai Masters.
"My serve wasn't working that well in the first set" - Ben Shelton after beating Jannik Sinner at Shanghai Masters
Ben Shelton has reached the quarterfinal in his debut Shanghai Masters campaign. He reflected on his victory over Jannik Sinner on Tuesday, saying:
"I had a lot of belief in my ability to serve and hang tough and to make it deep in sets. I trusted my fitness levels, being able to go the distance. That gave me a lot of confidence."
The 21-year-old admitted his serve performance was below par in the opening set but he found his rhythm in the next two sets.
"My serve wasn't working that well in the first set, I felt that he was really on top of me. I really started to find my groove and had one of my best serving days in the second and third sets," Ben Shelton added.
He will face compatriot Sebastian Korda next. Korda too has caused an upset in the tournament already by downing Daniil Medvedev in Round of 32.