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I’m not sure what Shelton can do to discomfit Sinner, but he might want to try and shorten the points – against a hitter as consistent and powerful, it makes no sense to thrash away, especially when you consider his ability to create angles. He’s playing solidly enough, just not really displaying the flair that took him to this point. Of course, that partly reflects the level of his opponent, but seeing how this is going, he’s got to forcer the issue. Sinner leads 7-6 3-3.
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Superb work from Cobolli, who wins three points in a row from 0-30. But he then nets a forehand down the line, then another, and the first break point of the match goes to Djokovic, whose return – of a really good serve under pressure – goes wide. From there, the youngster closes out, and he’ll feel much better now, having survived his first proper scare. It’s 3-3 in the first, as it is in the second on No 1, Sinner up on Shelton by a set.
Flavio Cobolli whips a forehand return. Photograph: Kin Cheung/APShare
Updated at 16.57 BST
Shelton’s worked hard on his background, but it’s no surprise when we’re shown diagram telling us that Sinner is targeting it. We’re still on serve in set two, but another love hold is further evidence that the world no 1 is in control.
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A sumptuous forehand return, hammered cross-court, gives Cobolli 15-30; naturally, Djokovic finds two nasty first serves, quickly sealing a hold for 3-2 in the first.
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Earlier on, I wondered how Sinner would respond to his lucky escape the other night. Might the slapping he was getting affect his confidence? Er: no. Against another opponent bringing it, he’s playing very nicely, though it’s also the case that Dimitrov is a cannier operator than Shelton, with a better command of angles and spins. Shelton leads 7-6 2-1.
Ben Shelton lines up a backhand. Photograph: Tom Jenkins/The GuardianShare
Updated at 16.46 BST
It surely can’t only be me who thinks of this exact Panini sticker every time every time they hear the name Shelton? The hue of blue is so ethereally beautiful, the neck and crest also tremendous.
Photograph: PaniniShare
And from there, Sinner closes the game out for 7-6 1-0; so far, every time Shelton has asked him a question, he’s come up with the answer.
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Cobolli then holds for 1-1, and as well as being a loverly tenniser, he’s also a long-awaited rival to Roberto Bautista Agut as the best footballer on the tour, having had trials with Roma; Bautista Agut was at Villarreal. Meantime, Shelton forces two break points at 6-7 0-0; Sinner saves both in short order.
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Jannik Sinner (1) takes the first set against Ben Shelton (10) 7-6(2)
Shelton put so much into that set, and it earned him precisely nowt. A ridiculously solid breaker seizes Sinner the advantage, and he’s playing much better than he did against Dimitrov.
Jannik Sinner on his way to taking the first set. Photograph: Adam Vaughan/EPAShare
Updated at 16.32 BST
Sinner stretches to make Shelton play one more ball, in the event he’s asked to play several more, goes long, and at 6-2 this first set looks over.
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On Centre, Cobolli opts to receive and Djokovic holds to love for 1-0. Already, the youngster is under pressure.
Novak Djokovic on the move. Photograph: Mike Egerton/PAShare
Updated at 16.33 BST
Ach, Shelton disburses a double, both his serves lost, and at 3-2 Sinner has the advantage; I doubt he’s as loose with it as his opponent.
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Now then! Three excellent forehands in a row, the third of them a drop, allow Shelton to hare in and finish down the line; he snaffles an immediate mini-break at 2-0, but Sinner then sends a backhand down the line for 1-2.
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Another hold for Shelton, meaning that at 5-6, Sinner must serve to stay in the set, and he holds to love, of course he does. Here comes the tiebreaker, and this should be a lot of fun.
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On Centre, out come Djokovic and Cobolli, who’ll never have felt the mystical, mythical presence of tennis’ most storied arena. I doubt he’s daunted by it – he’s spent much of his life preparing for it – but that doesn’t mean he’ll be comfy from the off.
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Now Sinner holds comfortably for 5-5, and this set is moving inexorably towards a tiebreak. Should that eventuate, it makes sense to pick the Italian to win it – he’s more experienced at handling the pressure and the more reliable server and hitter, but the drama and one-off moments Shelton is so adept at creating mean it’d be no surprise were it to go to him.
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Shelton and Sinner swap holds and it’s now 4-4 in the first set, the standard a serious one. In the two biggest matches of Shelton’s career – his two grand slam semis – he lost in straights, once to Djokovic and, earlier this year in Australia, to Sinner. He’s already played better today than he did in those and there’s been a different confidence about him these last 10 days. Like Andreeva, I get the sense he thinks he’s ready and, as I type, he holds again for 5-4.
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Back to Andreeva, she will, of course, be back. But she’ll know she missed a big opportunity today: fine player though Bencic is, there are more daunting quarter-final opponents, and had she played close to her best, she’d probably have won. Which isn’t to say she played poorly, she didn’t, just that she can hit a level that Bencic cannot, and she wasn’t close to it today. She’ll be hurting, all the more so because this felt like the first time she and her coach considered her ready to win.
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From what i’ve seen so far, Sinner looks in decent health. Both he and Shelton have started well, and we’re 3-3 in the first.
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Next on Centre Court: Flavio Cobolli (22) v Novak Djokovic (6). Oooh yeah!
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Bencic shares her respect for Andreeva, saying she spent time last evening looking to find a plan in a very solid game. It’s so magical to play on Centre Court, she says, and asked about the “small edge” she says her scouting gave her, she can’t pinpoint what it was, saying that when it gets tight you just play on instinct.
Asked about her injury, she confirms it’s a cracked toenail – “the life of a tennis player” – joking that she didn’t take a timeout to save us all from seeing it. “I’m speechless,” she concludes, which of course she is not – she loves to chat and it’s great to listen to her.
Finally, she thanks her team and family, noting that “it’s beautiful to create these moments together – I’ll bet – then off she goes. What a lovely person she seems to be; imagine how proud her nipper will be when she’s old enough to know how brilliant her mum is.
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Before we go to Bencic’s interview, a quick note: Shelton leads Sinner 2-1 in the first, on serve. We’l be back with them soonest.
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Belinda Bencic beats Mirra Andreeva (7) 7-6(3) 7-5(2)
Wow! Just 15 months after giving birth, Belinda Bencic reaches the semi-final of Wimbledon! She played really well today, especially after the disappointment of failing to serve out the match, handling it with equanimity. Mums are the greatest!
Belinda Bencic is through to the semi-final! Photograph: Tom Jenkins/The GuardianShare
Updated at 15.50 BST
Ach, a double hands Bencic 6-2 and four match points; ultimately, she’s played the breakers better and that’s why we are where we are though, more generally, she’s also played closer to her best than Andreeva, who’s done OK but hasn’t asserted herself as the superior talent of the two, though she is.
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Not for the first time, Bencic hits a testing pass as Andreeva comes in, the volley doesn’t do enough, and the ensuing winner restores the mini-break. And this time, Bencic wins the next point too, holding thereafter for a 5-2 lead. For the second time, she’s two points away from the match.
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Again, Bencic gets an immediate mini-break, this time when Andreeva misses a volley. But Andreeva retorts immediately, hitting hard to the corner before putting away a volley, running in; Bencic then places a forehand into corner for 2-1, on serve.
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Andreeva is the better player now, making deuce from 40-15 thanks to what is – for her – the ideal combination of a fine backhand and a Bencic error. Bencic, by the way, was grimacing a while ago and perhaps has a problem with her toe, but she cloes out when Andreeva makes consecutive forehand errors. For the second set in a row, we get to enjoy a tiebreak while, on No 1, Shelton holds in game one against Sinner.
Ben Shelton in action against Jannik Sinner. Photograph: Ben Whitley/PAShare
Updated at 15.46 BST
Has Andreeva hit a seam at the crucial moment? She holds for 6-5 in the second, and Bencic will, for sure, be feeling a way about her failure to serve the match out.
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Updated at 15.41 BST
On No 1, Sinner and Shelton are out and knocking up. I can’t wait for this one – is Sinner fully fit after hurting his elbow; mentally, how does he feel after what happened in Paris was compounded by his undressing the other night? Like Griggzy Dimitrov, Shelton serves huge and has a colossal forehand, though I guess he lacks the same consistency.
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Andreeva unloads on a backhand to the corner, it’s too good, and she breaks back! We’re back level at 5-5 in the second set, Bencic by one set to love. Will she be able to recover from spurning an opportunity to get the match won? it’ll be weighing heavily.
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Up in the next rally, Andreeva has a chance to finish it, but goes cross, where Bencic already is, rather than line, into the space, and it’s soon 30-all. A terrific rally then ensues, Bencic looking in control until a forehand slice incites her to waft tamely long. Andreeva has 30-40 and break-back point; Bencic is given a time violation for taking too long over one of the most important serves of her life. This is almost unbearable.
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Bencic sends a backhand long for 0-15, but the real error was the tame second serve; she needs to seize this, not hope it’s given to her. Andreeva, though, helps her along by netting a backhand – she’s done that too often today – but then a long rally ends when Bencic directs a backhand of her own into the tape. At 15-30, she’s feeling it; aren’t we all?
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Andreeva’s serve clips the outermost fibre of the box, the return comes sends her towards the backhand corner, and when her riposte falls long, Bencic has the first break of the match! At 7-6 5-4, the woman whose maternity leave meant she started the year ranked 489, will shortly serve for a place in the Wimbledon quarter-finals! What a moment! But how to process it such that she can move her limbs?
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Ooooh, Bencic waits at the back, enticing Andreeva in with a short slice before passing her for 15-30. This might be the match right here, and with Andreeva at the net again, here comes the pass … but this time, Andreeva plays two outstanding volleys, one to keep her in the point then one to win it, though Bencic might feel she could’ve done better. We wind up at deuce, Bencic shouting something to her team after the rally which takes her there, and when Andreeva then nets, she has a chance to break … only to swat a forehand wide. This is so intense now, all the more so when Andreeva nets again! Advantage Bencic!
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