Ben Shelton shouldn't feel bad about Jannik Sinner being a bad matchup for him. Sinner is a bad matchup for everyone on the ATP tour except for Carlos Alcaraz. In their round-robin match at the 2025 ATP Finals, Sinner ended any hope Shelton had for winning early.
In fact, in the first game. That is what great players do, though. Instead of playing with their food, an elite talent will mostly jump out to an early lead and take the air out of a match or game. Sinner got a break against the American in the first game, and the ending of the match already seemed destined.
The Italian got another break of the American in the last game of the set to coolly win the first set 6-3. It only took 39 minutes. Sinner had already made the semifinals at the ATP Finals, so a quick match was the best possible outcome for him.
Jannik Sinner overcomes Ben Shelton in the round-robin stage of the 2025 ATP Finals
Shelton didn't simply try to serve big and then blast his forehand. He attempted to rush the net at times, change his return location, and almost anything else that could have changed the narrative of the match. He failed, but it was excusable.
The second set was evenly played, with each player holding serve relatively easily. Winning a couple of points on a return game must have felt like a victory. At 5-4 with Shelton serving, however, the Italian was able to get a first break (and match) point, though Shelton fought it off with three blistering forehands, each of which could have won the game. Shelton went on to hold.
The set ended in a tie-break, and the Italian got an early mini-break and led 4-2 on the changeover. Shelton might have gained a bit of momentum serving at 1-4 when he hit a backhand that clipped the net and bounced over Sinner's racket for a winner.
The American also had chances on Sinner's second serve at both 4-3 and 5-3, but could not capitalize. Serving at 3-6, Shelton hit a second serve that Sinner simply destroyed and the American hit a weak return that landed long, giving Sinner the victory in straight sets.
After defeating Shelton, Sinner has now won his last 16 matches against left-handers, which is unusual. One of the main reasons is that the Italian has an elite, and possibly currently the best, backhand in tennis. It negates any advantage a left-hander might have.
Jannik Sinner has no chance to take the year-end No. 1 ranking, however. By winning all three of his round-robin matches, Carlos Alcaraz earned enough points to cement that status for himself.
Sinner does have a big payday to play for, though. If he goes undefeated through the year-end event, as he did in 2024, he will earn $5,071,000. That should be a huge motivator for any player.
He might also face Alcaraz in Sunday's final. At this point, the Italian might be having some doubts that he can beat an in-form Alcaraz in a final. While Sinner beat Alcaraz for the Wimbledon trophy this year, he has lost seven of his last eight matches to the Spaniard, five of them in finals. A victory in the last tournament of the year for Sinner over Alcaraz would be a huge lift mentally.