Ben Shelton dazzles in win against Sonego to reach first Wimbledon quarter-final

The Guardian

21 hours ago

Some match-ups in tennis just guarantee entertainment. In front of an enthralled Court No 1 crowd here, the American Ben Shelton and Italy's Lorenzo Sonego produced magic, as they always do, and as has usually been the case, it was Shelton who came out on top to reach the quarter-finals of Wimbledon for the first time.
The left-handed Shelton, who has made the semi-finals of the US and Australian Opens, served rockets, carved angles and slashed winners all over the place as he claimed a 3-6, 6-1, 7-6 (1), 7-5 victory. It's 25 years since an American man – Pete Sampras – last won the title here and the way he plays makes Shelton a genuine threat.
'It was difficult,' said Shelton, who will play Jannik Sinner or Grigor Dimitrov next. 'I feel like every time I play Sonego, whenever I need a big point he comes up with a highlight reel, and sometimes vice versa. It was a lot of fun. I'm getting very comfortable out here on Court No 1.'
Not for the first time, these two brought the best out of each other, inspiring the other at every turn. At the Australian Open in January, Sonego hit the shot of the tournament, a volley that spun back over his side of the net, but Shelton won in four sets; at Roland Garros last month, they went the distance in an instant classic before Shelton edged his way through.
With a first quarter-final here at stake for both men, each was a little nervous early on and a tricky wind did not help matters. But they soon settled into their usual fare; outstanding shot-making, outrageous movement and even the occasional full-length drive.
Sonego began strongly to take the first set but Shelton hit back to level. A dipping, brilliant backhand pass in the seventh game of the third set gave him a crucial break but Sonego broke straight back only for Shelton to dominate the tie-break. The fourth set looked headed for a tie-break but Shelton played his best return game of the match to clinch victory.
Marin Cilic had harboured hopes of going deep in the tournament after taking out fourth seed Jack Draper in round two but the Croatian was edged out by another Italian, the 22nd seed Flavio Cobolli, going down 6-4, 6-4, 6-7 (4), 7-6 (3).
Cilic had a chance to take it to a decider when he broke to lead 4-3 in the fourth but could not hold on and Cobolli snatched the tie-break to reach the quarter-finals of a slam for the first time. 'It is something that I dream [about] since I was young,' said Cobolli, who will play the seven-time champion Novak Djokovic next. 'I'm real emotional because this is a day that I will never forget.'
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Cilic rued his missed opportunity. 'Yeah, a bit disappointing to go out,' he said. 'I felt that there was possibly a good chance to come back in the fourth and to have some good energy in the fifth.'