Will Ben Shelton finally turn the tide against Jannik Sinner?

Ben Shelton and Jannik Sinner have met seven times in just over two years—their first meeting took place October 10, 2023, in the fourth round of the Shanghai Masters.

None of those matches was a final, and their three encounters at the majors all ended in straight sets. The two heavy hitters are quickly building a rivalry, but there’s no contest between them that clearly stands above the rest, in terms of stakes or lasting impact.

Except, perhaps, to Shelton. For his only career win in this head-to-head came on October 10, 2023.

Since then, Sinner has not only won every match he’s played against Shelton, but every set—15 in all. It’s an astonishing stat considering how lethal Shelton’s serve can be.

All six Sinner victories have included a tiebreaker, but they’ve all gone his way:

• 2023 Vienna, round of 32: 7-6 (2), 7-5
• 2024 Indian Wells, round of 16: 7-6 (4), 6-1
• 2024 Wimbledon, round of 16: 6-2, 6-4, 7-6 (9)
• 2024 Shanghai, round of 16: 6-4, 7-6 (1)
• 2025 Australian Open, semifinal: 7-6 (2), 6-2, 6-2
• 2025 Wimbledon, quarterfinal: 7-6 (2), 6-4, 6-4

In his third-round win over Andrey Rublev on Thursday—a result that secured Shelton a spot in his first ATP Finals—the American won 81% of his service points, and didn’t offer a single break point.

“I’ve been in a great serving rhythm,” Shelton told Tennis Channel’s Prakash Amritraj at the Rolex Paris Masters, “it’s tough to break me when I’m serving like that.”

↗️ Stream live Friday, 2:00 p.m. ET, on the Tennis Channel app: Shelton vs. Sinner

Another near-flawless day with the ball in his hand may be required against Sinner, who is in the quarterfinals of this tournament for the first time. He’s had little trouble getting acclimated to the event’s new setting in La Defense, racing to the finish line in wins over Zizou Bergs and Francisco Cerundolo.

The Argentinean broke Sinner twice on Wednesday, and if Shelton sees some chances come his way on Friday, he’ll need to take advantage in order to snap his losing streak.

“When it comes to the return games, just dig,” said Shelton, who broke Rublev twice. “Every ball back in the court.”

But he also admitted, “tomorrow’s a completely different day.”

Facing Sinner, Shelton surely hopes it’s much more different day than usual.