Australian Open: Numero uno Italian Jannik Sinner exposes US stripes

The Times of India in Melbourne: After two hours and 36 minutes of breaking down Ben Shelton’s incendiary play while battling cramps, world No. 1 Jannik Sinner turned to his team when the American’s backhand found the net on match point.
Sinner grit his teeth and clenched his fist. It was that kind of a performance.
The Italian came through 7-6 (2), 6-2, 6-2, making his second successive final here in a match in which Shelton’s level rode the roller-coaster — the 22-year-old had 55 unforced errors, which shouldn’t sum the match for him, but it does.
The first set hit dizzying heights, just as well that the roof on Rod Laver Arena was open. The left-handed Shelton stepped up to the plate superbly, matching the world No. 1 shot for shot, meeting flat with flatter, spin with slice and pace with power.
For 71 minutes and 94 points, it was hard to pick the numero uno and the 20th ranked player apart.
The 22-year-old American broke early for a 2-0 lead, but the defending champion hit back and levelled at 2-2 even though he looked anything but settled on the court.
It was Shelton then who broke in the 11th game and looked set to wrap up the set in the following game with two set points on his serve, but Sinner broke back and took hold of the tie-break and the match.
Then, when the top seed jumped to a 4-0 lead in the second set, it showed that Shelton of the sparkling talent was still relatively new in the pro game.
Shelton, who had the trainer work on his quads at the end of the second set, had the crowd on his side. From shouts of ‘Come on Shelton! Make America Great Again’, there was fair support for the World No. 1 too, lending to the atmosphere.
Shelton had chances to break the Sinner serve in the second and fourth games of the third sets, but it was the Italian, battling cramps, who broke in the fifth game.
At the change of ends, Sinner got his hamstring attended to by the physio. Sinner, clearly struggling with movement, decided to swing at everything and broke at love, before serving out the match.