What Ben Shelton couldn’t do at last year’s Australian Open, he’s hoping to change this time around. The 23-year-old is 1-8 against Jannik Sinner in their head-to-head, but as they prepare to meet again in the quarterfinals for the second straight year, Shelton believes he’s ready to take the next step. And so does former pro Tim Henman.

Shelton arrives full of confidence after fighting past Casper Ruud in the fourth round with a 3-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-4 win in 2 hours and 36 minutes. Henman believes this version of Ben Shelton is different, and he explained why the 23-year-old may be better equipped than most to challenge both Carlos Alcaraz and Sinner.

“He’s got something different,” Henman said. “Why, dare I say, Alex de Minaur hasn’t had any success against Alcaraz and Sinner, and he’s a phenomenal player playing some of his best tennis is because it’s very similar.” Henman’s point landed even harder considering Shelton beat de Minaur in the quarterfinals of the 2025 National Bank Open. On top of it, de Minaur is 0-5 against Alcaraz and 0-13 against Sinner.

As Alex de Minaur gets set to face Carlos Alcaraz in the quarterfinals tomorrow, Henman also had praise for the Spaniard while explaining why that matchup has been such a tough one.

“You know, he hasn’t got a massive weapon anywhere,” Henman said of de Minaur. But when the conversation shifted to Ben Shelton, his tone changed. “When you look at Shelton, he absolutely can disrupt,” Henman said, pointing to what separates the 23-year-old from the rest.

Henman went on to spell out exactly what makes Shelton so dangerous. “He’s hitting serves at 228 kilometres an hour, he’s got a forehand he can just unleash, and he can finish points at the net. That is different,” he said.

And that’a true. Shelton clocked the fastest serve of the day at 142 miles per hour and blasted 55 winners along with 45 unforced errors, a clear sign of the firepower Henman was talking about.

As for Casper Ruud, part of the struggle in Melbourne may have had little to do with tennis at all. While he was preparing for his fourth-round match, his mind was also back home in Norway, where his wife Maria is pregnant with their first child and due to give birth this weekend.

Ruud spoke about it openly last week. “She’s due later in the tournament, so we’ll see. It’s not until the final weekend, but you never know, she could come earlier. If I get the call and she goes into labor, I’ll jump on the first flight home for sure,” the 27-year-old said.

Although Ruud looked solid through the first three rounds and even in the opening set against the seventh seed, the match slipped away from him after that. Once Ben Shelton’s serve caught fire, the American took control, playing freely and attacking relentlessly. Shelton won 29 of his 30 trips to the net as a result, and returned serve unusually well, completely outplaying Ruud across the final three sets.

Ben Shelton opens up ahead of Jannik Sinner showdown

Both Jannik Sinner and Ben Shelton faced each other four times during last season, including twice at Grand Slams. But since then, Shelton believes a lot has changed in his game.

That confidence was clear right after Shelton’s win over Casper Ruud. During his on-court interview, the reporter mentioned how locked in he looked and asked what he was most looking forward to heading into another showdown with his rival. Shelton didn’t hesitate.

“It is what you look forward to the most in this sport. It’s where I wanted to be,” Shelton said. “I wanted to be back here. I wanted to give myself another shot. I wanted to improve on some things that I didn’t do as well last year and leave it all out on the court.”

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And honestly, last year didn’t give him much room to breathe. Sinner was in full control as he powered into his third straight hard-court major final, again beating Shelton 7-6 (2), 6-2, 6-2 in the Australian Open semifinals. It was one-way traffic, and Shelton knew it.

Now, though, the American looks far more settled as he prepares to face the world No. 2 for the 10th time. He’s chasing a spot in the final four at the Australian Open for the second straight year, and is also aiming to reach the semifinals of a Grand Slam for the third time overall.

On the other side of the net, Sinner stands just three wins away from a Melbourne three-peat, something only Novak Djokovic has done in the Open Era. The stakes couldn’t be much higher. That said, do you htink Ben Shelton has what it takes to defeat Jannik Sinner?