Djokovic-Zverev and Sinner-Shelton - men's semifinal preview

Djokovic vs Zverev

The 1st men's singles semifinal will be between Novak Djokovic and Alexander Zverev. These two will meet for the 13th time overall and for the 4th time at Grand Slams. Novak won all three matches at the biggest events in tennis.

Their 1st meeting at Grand Slams happened at the Roland Garros in 2019 which Novak won in straight sets. The 2nd meeting happened in Melbourne in 2021 when Djokovic won in four sets, but it easily could have been a match in five sets. Finally, in the same year, they met in the semifinal of the US Open which, again, Djokovic won but this time in five sets.

This year's Australian Open has been great for Sascha as he didn't waste too much energy as he usually does at Majors. He defeated Paul in four sets but there could have been more drama as Tommy had a set point in two sets he lost. On the other side, Djokovic is surely full of confidence after a win against Alcaraz as well as previous two wins against Machac and Lehecka.

One of the reasons why Alexander doesn't have a Grand Slam title is primarily his characteristic at the Grand Slams to play too defensive tennis in the moments/matches when he needs to go for a point. Examples – at all four Majors in the matches he lost, especially Roland Garros final and the US Open quarterfinals.

In order to defeat Novak, Zverev will need the help of his 1st serve which in my opinion is just one of the important factors. Alexander won 72% of points on his 1st serve against Paul and 52% of points on his 2nd serve. Solid percentage but the 2nd serve is the main reason that made the difference between Djokovic and Alcaraz in the quarterfinals...

When it comes to important moments, Zverev's forehand can crack under pressure which is something that Novak will try to expose in those most important points. Being passive with a forehand won't help Zverev...

Sinner vs Shelton

The defending champion Jannik Sinner will face Ben Shelton in the semifinal of the Australian Open. Ben won their 1st meeting in Shanghai in 2023 while Jannik won next four matches including last year's Wimbledon.

When for the 1st time in his life Ben used his passport, it was the 2023 Australian Open when he reached the quarterfinals. His best Grand Slam result was the 2023 US Open semifinal. Here he is, a year and a half later, playing again in the Grand Slam semifinal, but this time with much more experience...

Generally speaking, this year's Australian Open was a very mature performance. Five good wins (including Monfils retirement after three sets) will surely give the American a boost of confidence. Another motif is... facing world no.1.

Jannik was struggling physically in the 4th round match against Rune. The post match celebration reflects how difficult it was that day for the Italian. There were some speculations about his health but he denied them with an astonishing match against Alex de Minaur where he lost only 6 games.

The match will be played in the night session which means the conditions will be slower. Generally, slower conditions aren't the favourite type for both, but in this case, I think it's a bit of a bigger problem for Ben. Why? Well, in order to produce a huge upset, Shelton needs to be aggressive whenever he can.

The American will have to take a risk when there's a chance for it which will certainly lead to errors but that's the only way and still there are different things which must match for Shelton to win this match. Being passive against Sinner won't bring any result unless the Italian struggles physically.

Sinner won 82% of points on his 1st serve in five matches he played, while Shelton won 79%. In his last match against Sonego, Shelton won 92 points in 0-4 shot rallies. He will need a good number tomorrow as well...