Ben Shelton is into the third Australian Open quarter-final of his career – and warned Jannik Sinner “I’ll be ready to go” as he bids to avenge his semi-final loss to the Italian 12 months ago. The 23-year-old, now ranked seventh in the world, came from a set down to beat 12th seed Casper Ruud 3-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-4 on Rod Laver Arena on Monday. The match wrapped up just before 11.30pm local time in Melbourne as Shelton served and volleyed his way into the last eight.

Shelton will take on reigning Melbourne champion Sinner, the world No.2, on Wednesday. The four-time Grand Slam winner swatted fellow Italian Luciano Darderi aside earlier the same day as he bids to lift the Norman Brookes Challenge Cup for the third time in his career. Having beaten Shelton 7-6, 6-2, 6-2 in the semis last year, the American No.1 is gunning for revenge. Shelton declared: “It’s what you look forward to the most in this sport. It’s where I wanted to be, I wanted to be back here, 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.

“For me, like I’ve said in earlier rounds, I have a lot more that I want to do here and I have a lot more to prove. Hope you guys come back in two days’ time because I’ll be ready to go.”

The world No.7 was keen to thank the crowd on Rod Laver for their loud backing on a warm Melbourne evening. He said: “For me atmosphere is everything. I want to thank you guys for staying out here so late tonight. I know you guys were probably looking forward to watching Novak [Djokovic] tonight, I actually heard it from the stands. But I hope we didn’t disappoint with that match. I really appreciate you guys staying late.

“I’m definitely a competitor. I look forward to rowdy crowds and down here in Australia there’s no shortage. From my first experience here playing on John Cain [Arena], I fell in love with this tournament. It’s one of my favourites and I mark it on the calendar every year.”

And on what he’s improved on for 2026, Shelton added: “Mentally, for sure, I’m a lot more focused, a lot more locked in to the type of player I am and what my game style is, what I do well and where my weaknesses are. I’m honest with myself but I’m confident in my abilities. My confidence grows each and every year due to the work we keep putting in and that’s not going to stop.”

The winner of Shelton’s quarter-final with Sinner could face Novak Djokovic in the semis. The fourth seed was due to face Jakuk Mensik in round four but was handed a walkover with the Czech pulling out because of an ‍abdominal injury.

But Sinner insists he is not worrying about whether or not Djokovic will have extra energy should the pair meet in the final four. He said: “I don’t know. I’m in quarter-finals now. I have a very tough match the next one, as Novak has. There are positives and negatives. In this sport it can happen.

“He always had quite fast matches also. At times it can also break a little bit the rhythm. In the same time it can give you a bit more energy than the opponent. It depends.

“I think nothing really changed. I’ll watch on my side. I have a tough match in front of my eyes, which is a very tough quarter-finals if it’s Casper or Ben. I’ll focus on that. If I’m in semis, I’m very happy. If not, it was a great Grand Slam for me.”