“He’s nervous, he’s just not showing it,” Jannik Sinner is thrilled to share the company of his father in the audience as he beats Ben Shelton for a spot in the Indian Wells quarterfinals

The Italian moves into the quarter-finals of the 2024 Indian Wells Masters following his win over Ben Shelton.

“He’s nervous, he’s just not showing it,” Jannik Sinner is thrilled to share the company of his father in the audience as he beats Ben Shelton for a spot in the Indian Wells quarterfinals

(R to L) Jannik Sinner and his father (Images via IMAGO)

World No. 3 Jannik Sinner looks unstoppable this season as he cruises into the quarter-finals of the 2024 Indian Wells Masters. The Italian is the third seed at this year’s event and has now reached the last-8 on consecutive occasions.

He defeated American young gun Ben Shelton in the fourth round to book his spot in the last-8. Sinner won the match 7-6(4), 6-1 in 1 hour and 38 minutes. This helped him register his 150th hardcourt win on the Tour.

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He becomes the first player born after 2000 to achieve this feat. His hardcourt record now stands at 150-46. Sinner has so far made a perfect start to the season. He is 15-0 for the season while his current winning streak is at 18-0 including his hattrick of wins for Italy in the 2023 Davis Cup.

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With Shelton having crowd support, things looked tricky at certain points. But Sinner somehow still managed to prevail. He enters the quarter-finals without dropping a set. Apart from the motivation of winning his second Masters-1000 title, the presence of his father Johann also had a special impact.

Following his victory over the 20-year-old American, Sinner joked about his father hiding his nervousness watching him play. He, however, went on to talk about missing his dad while being on the Tour and revealed how the two often spend time together. 

He’s nervous. He’s just not showing it I guess. It’s amazing to have him here. It’s a little bit of a different tournament. We have the house. We cook together in the evening. We watch some TV series together, which I missed a lot in the last years.
Said Sinner during his on-court interview.
I haven’t had him around so much. It’s great to have him and obviously all the rest of the team. It’s fun to be around with them. It’s awesome.
Added the World No. 3.

Tricky tie ahead for Jannik Sinner in the quarter-finals

With one win away from retaining all his ranking points, Sinner will, however, have to dig deep in the quarter-finals. The Italian will now take on 32nd seed Jiri Lehecka. The Czech has shown great form and, similar to the Italian, he is yet to drop a set so far this week.

Jannik Sinner
Jannik Sinner (Via Imago)

Lehecka started his campaign with a three-set win over Brandon Nakashima in the second round. He followed it with a straight-set win over Russian No. 2 Andrey Rublev. Lehecka didn’t concede a single breakpoint opportunity against the in-form Russian, just a testament to his controlled performance.

In the fourth round, the 22-year-old Czech took on 11th-seeded Stefanos Tsitsipas. The Greek was also shot down in straight sets as Lehecka won the match 6-2, 6-4. Playing in Indian Wells just for the second time, the Czech has already made it to the quarter-finals.

While Sinner did win their only previous meeting, a straight-set affair in the 2019 Ostrava Challenger (played on Clay). The two are however yet to lock horns on the Tour. With both in great form, it should surely be a cracker of a contest.

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