"Ben Shelton was bummed" - Former pro reveals emotional scenes after American's heartbreaking loss to Jannik Sinner in Wimbledon QF

Ben Shelton (L) Jannik Sinner (R) | Getty
Ben Shelton (L) Jannik Sinner (R) | Getty

Ben Shelton faced a straight-sets defeat to Jannik Sinner in the quarterfinals of the 2025 Wimbledon Championships. Former American pro, Sam Querrey, revealed the 22-year-old was "bummed" to endure a sixth consecutive loss against the World No. 1.

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On Wednesday, July 9, Shelton, in his maiden Wimbledon quarterfinal, took on Sinner in their seventh encounter on tour. The Italian, who went through an elbow issue in his lucky escape against Grigor Dimitrov in the fourth round, was clinical against the American.

Sinner played at a high level and continued his dominance over Shelton by winning 7-6(2), 6-4, 6-4. This was Sinner's sixth consecutive win over Shelton, including the Australian Open semifinal in January.

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After the match, Shelton called himself a "critical thinker" and talked about how he is going to turn towards solving the problems he is facing against top players. During the Nothing Major podcast, former American pros talked about Shelton's attitude and his desire to get better.

Querrey, meanwhile, revealed Shelton's emotional response after the match.

"I saw him after the match, about an hour after, on the lawn in Wimbledon. And, he was like bummed. You can see it on his face, like, you know, I gave him a little high five and he was just like, 'I gotta find a way to like get to these guys' level.'" Querrey said (at 7:40).
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"So that proves it. He's obviously happy he made the quarterfinals. It's fun but there's another layer in there that he's got and he wants to get to that next level," he added.

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Shelton was extremely impressed with the levels shown by Sinner. The American had never seen anything like the Italian's ball speed.


Ben Shelton showers praise on Jannik Sinner after their Wimbledon QF

Ben Shelton and Jannik Sinner at the Championships - Wimbledon 2025 - Source: Getty
Ben Shelton and Jannik Sinner at the Championships - Wimbledon 2025 - Source: Getty

Speaking after facing defeat against Jannik Sinner in the 2025 Wimbledon Championships quarterfinal, Ben Shelton was all praise for the World No. 1.

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"His ball speed is really high. Never seen anything like it. You don't see anything like it when you're going through the draw... When you play him, it's almost like things are in [two times] speed. I'm usually pretty good at adjusting to that speed," Ben Shelton said (via ATPTour.com).
"It’s difficult when a guy's hitting the ball that big, that consistently off both wings, and serving the way he is," he added.
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Shelton has been in solid form this season, holding a 19-14 record. He also earned a career-high ranking of World No. 10. However, he has been defeated by either Sinner or Carlos Alcaraz in the three Grand Slam events of 2025.

Meanwhile, Sinner will prepare to play against Novak Djokovic in the semifinal at SW19. Their head-to-head stands at 5-4 with the Italian leading by a slender margin. In their last encounter, Sinner got the better of Djokovic in the semifinal of the French Open.

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Edited by Pritha Ghosh
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