Jannik Sinner has overcome his bout of illness (Image: Getty)
is back in “beast mode” after recovering from his stomach illness, the world No.1’s coach has warned.
But the defending champion will now face “competitive monster” Ben Shelton in the semi-finals on Friday.
Sinner, 23, struggled with illness during his fourth-round win in the heat of the day over Holger Rune. But the Italian returned to top form by thrashing Aussie No.1 Alex de Minaur on Wednesday night to record his 19th consecutive Tour-level win.
And his co-coach Simone Vagnozzi said: “Jannik is fine. We are happy. The other day in the morning, he was not feeling well, had a headache and stomach ache so we decided not to warm up.
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“Things worsened a bit during the match due to the heat, but nothing to worry about. Playing in the evening against De Minaur helped. And the weather.
“Apart from a few small errors with his backhand in the first three games, he shifted to ‘beast mode’.”
Sinner has a 4-1 winning record against left-hander Shelton, including a straight-sets victory in their only Grand Slam meeting in last summer.
The American’s only win came in the fourth round of 2023 Shanghai Masters – the last time the Italian lost before the quarter-finals of the tournament.
“Ben and Jannik have always had a battle,” Vagnozzi added. “Jannik trained at the beginning of the tournament with and we will train with a leftie before the match because he serves very well.”
Shelton, 22, reached the 2023 US Open semi-final before mimicked his celebration and put the phone down on him.
He has already beaten Italians Lorenzo Musetti and Lorenzo Sonego here.
And his father, coach and former pro Bryan Shelton said: “He’s a competitive monster out there. In these big matches, late in the tournament, it’s more about heart, determination, attitude and character. Ben really showed his character.”