Ben Shelton will face defending champion Janic Ciner in the semi-finals of the Australian Open

MELBOURNE, Australia — Ben Shelton’s Australian Open quarterfinal opponent, Lorenzo Sonego, produced the shot of the tournament — diving to his left for a volley with so much spin that the ball bounced to one side of the net, then floated back to the other — but it was the American. who ended with victory.

The left-handed Shelton had some entertainment of his own, including a couple of push-ups after hitting the final tiebreaker to earn cheers, and he reached his second Grand Slam semifinal at the age of 22 by beating unseeded Sonego 6-4, 7-5, 4. -6, 7-6 (4).

“I’m relieved,” said Shelton, who will meet Italy’s No. 1 Janic Ciner for a spot in the final. “Shout out to Lorenzo Sonego because that was some ridiculous tennis.”

Ciner, the defending champion, defeated the last Australian in the men’s bracket, No. 8 Alex de Minaur, 6-3, 6-2, 6-1 on the night at Melbourne Park.

“So many times he has been played and seen the same thing. So I’m not surprised anymore when I face him,” said De Minaur, who is now 0-10 against Siner in their career. “This is the type of match.”

Ciner looked and played much better — hands shaking, dizzy — during a four-set fight against Holger Run in the fourth round. After giving himself a little break, falling asleep and hitting the court for about 30 or 40 minutes, Sinner said his body felt much better.

“Definitely, (my) best match of the tournament so far,” said Sinner, who extended his unbeaten streak to 19 matches last season.

Shelton, seeded 21st, closed out the first set with a 144 mph ace against Sonego, tied for the fastest serve in the last 1 1/2 weeks, and bent his left hand after hitting a powerful forehand to close the 22-stroke point. And earn a break in the second. His father Brian, a former Tour pro who is Ben’s coach, also laughed as he patted his own right bicep.

A few points from the end, Shelton ran to get his racquet on a seemingly unreachable ball and fell onto the courtside advertising board as Sonego hit an easy winner to take the point.

Shelton stayed on the ground for a while, then earned praise for his effort — and calisthenics after the fall.

When Shelton closed things out with a forehand winner in the 26th – he had zero through the backhand – he flexed again and scoffed until his expression turned into a smile.

In his press conference, Shelton offered some unsolicited comments critical of some of the people conducting the post-match interviews.

As good as Shelton is with his serve and forehand, his improving game has been a significant part of his first-ever final four appearance at the Australian Open.

He did enough in that department, collecting 11 break points and converting three, against Sonego, an Italian ranked 55th. Shelton entered the match with 52% of his break chances, the highest rate among the eight men’s quarterfinalists.

Shelton lost to Novak Djokovic in the semifinals of the 2023 US Open.

The other semifinal will be Djokovic vs. No. 2 Alexander Zverev. Djokovic continued his pursuit of an 11th Australian Open title, and an unprecedented 25th major trophy, with a leg injury and a 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-4 quarterfinal win over Carlos Alcaraz.

The women’s semifinals pit No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka, winner of the tournament each of the past two years, against No. 11 Paola Badosa and No. 2 Iga Suatek against No. 19 Madison Keys.

The crowd-pleasing factor was high for Shelton vs. Sonego, who had never made it this far on a major stage before.

Sonego went 67-for-90 in trips to the net and his highlight-reel volley came early in the second set. It was so remarkable that Shelton acknowledged the effort by offering a congratulatory handshake.

Sonego had another terrific shot in the fourth set, when he raced to the net with his back and hit a hook shot that sealed the winner.

Although Shelton will continue to play in Melbourne this year.