Sinner will be ‘absolutely delighted’ to win in straight sets – Expert reaction
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Jannik Sinner himself admitted he was “lucky” to have come through a challenging opening week at the Australian Open.The two-time defending champion in Melbourne looked moments from having to call time on his third-round match against Eliot Spizzirri when he fell victim to severe cramp – limping heavily, barely able to move around the court, or get up to serve.
But the tennis gods looked down on their world No. 2, the extreme heat forcing a stoppage and the Rod Laver Arena roof was closed, which allowed Sinner to recover and continue.
Another break between sets – as outlined in the Australian Open’s heat policy – allowed the Italian to steady himself, and he returned to the infallible figure we have come to recognise down under with a routine, straight-sets victory over Luciano Darderi to book his spot in the final eight.
Ben Shelton awaits Sinner – with the Italian holding an ominous 8-1 head-to-head record against the American – with one of those victories coming in the quarter-finals in Melbourne last year.
Should Sinner extend his dominance against the big-serving 23-year-old, he would align himself alongside tennis greats Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic by either matching, or setting several records.
Shelton a ‘massive underdog’ but can ’cause problems’ for Sinner – Henman
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How Sinner can beat Federer
Sinner’s victory over Darderi – which was surprisingly played out on Margaret Court Arena – was his 18th in succession at the Australian Open.
Having won the 2024 and 2025 iterations of the season-opening Grand Slam, Sinner’s last defeat in Melbourne came against Stefanos Tsitsipas over five sets in the fourth round in 2023, when he was the No. 15 seed.
Should Sinner defeat Shelton and make it through to the semi-finals, he would move level with Federer’s record of 19 straight victories at the Happy Slam – a feat the Swiss great achieved between 2006-08.
That would sit him at joint-fourth in the all-time rankings for consecutive matches won at the Australian Open and, of course, give Sinner the opportunity to surpass Federer’s tally in the semi-finals.
The all-time record is currently held by Djokovic at 33, set between 2019 and 2024, while Andre Agassi won 26 in succession between 2000 and 2004.
Should Sinner win his third Australian Open title, he would also surpass Ivan Lendl, who is third in the rankings with 20 consecutive wins at the Grand Slam.
How Sinner can match Djokovic
Sinner would match Djokovic’s best tally of six consecutive Grand Slam finals, should he make it to the Sunday showpiece on Rod Laver Arena.
Djokovic enjoyed that dominant run in major tournaments between his 2015 Australian Open triumph, and his title-winning run at the French Open a year and half later.
In that time, the Serbian won five of the six finals he played, with only Stan Wawrinka bettering him in the French Open final in 2015, as the Swiss played out a clay-court masterclass over four sets.
Highlights: Record-breaking Sinner powers through to quarter-finals
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With Sinner having not missed a major final since Wimbledon in 2024, he would move level with Djokovic in a quite stunning feat for a 24-year-old. And given his dominance alongside Carlos Alcaraz at the top of the men’s game, the Italian could threaten the all-time record.
That was set by Federer when he made 10 consecutive Grand Slam final appearances, a streak beginning at Wimbledon and 2005 and ending when he failed to reach the final of the Australian Open in 2008. Of these 10 appearances, Federer won eight of his 20 major titles – with only his only defeats coming against Rafa Nadal at Roland Garros.
While Sinner contested all four Grand Slam titles this season, Alcaraz missed out on the Australian Open showpiece – having suffered defeat to Djokovic in the quarter-finals.
Sinner could also match a Djokovic feat by becoming the only other man in the Open Era to win the Australian Open in three consecutive years.
Djokovic – the record 10-time champion in Melbourne – has won three successive Australian Open titles on two different occasions, first from 2011-13, and then from 2019-2021.
In an intriguing twist of fate, only Sinner or Djokovic can reach this year’s final. Should they both come through their quarter-finals on Tuesday, they will meet in the semi-final for the chance to face either Carlos Alcaraz or Alexander Zverev.
Sinner’s wider numbers
In reaching the quarter-finals with victory over Darderi, Sinner made it to the final eight of a Grand Slam for the ninth consecutive time.
According to Opta, that made him the third-youngest man to achieve the feat in the Open Era, behind only Djokovic and Pete Sampras. At 24 years, 155 days, Sinner was younger than Federer (24 years, 322 days) and Rafael Nadal (25 years, 87 days) when they hit that figure.
Sinner also etched his name above Djokovic, Federer and Nadal with his fourth-round win over Darderi. By reaching that stage, Sinner marked his 30th match ever played at the season-opening Slam with his 26th victory.
Only Stefan Edberg, Mats Wilander and Agassi bettered that tally with 27 wins from their opening 30 matches, while Djokovic, Nadal and Federer were all tied on 25.
So, while Sinner may count himself lucky to be at the business end of this year’s competition, it is hard to deny that he deserves to be here.
With a rested Djokovic – the 38-year-old benefiting from a break as his fourth-round opponent Jakub Mensik withdrew – and Alcaraz looking ominous on the opposite side of the draw, it is truly too tight to call the outcome of the men’s draw.
So the closing stages of this tournament are simply essential viewing.
Stream every match of the 2026 Australian Open live and on-demand on discovery+