Indian Wells Masters: Sinner beats Shelton to extend winning streak to 18

The Italian will face No 32 seed Jiri Lehecka for the first time in the Indian Wells quarter-finals

Jannik Sinner at Indian Wells 2024 Image Credit: Antoine Couvercelle / Panoramic

Haresh Ramchandani

March 13, 2024

BNP Paribas Open •Round of 16 • completed

See draw

B. SheltonvsJ. Sinner

Australian Open champion Jannik Sinner, the No 3 seed, advanced to the quarter-finals of the BNP Paribas Open on Tuesday evening with a straight sets win over American Ben Shelton, the No 16 seed.

The Italian overcame the big-hitting Shelton in a tiebreak in the first set and then comfortably ran away with the second to complete the 7-6 (4), 6-1 win at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden in one hour and 39 minutes.

Sinner remains unbeaten in 2024 – this was his 15th win in as many matches this year. He also extends his winning streak to 18 matches and has now won 35 of his last 37 matches on the tour. He also become the first male player born in the 2000s to win 150 matches on hard courts.

The Italian, who could leave Indian Wells as the new world No 2, will face No 32 seed Jiri Lehecka next. This will be the first meeting between the two players.

In the previous rounds of the Indian Wells Tennis Masters, 22-year-old Sinner won against Australian Thanasi Kokkinakis (6-3, 6-0) and German Jan-Lennard Struff, the No 25 seed (6-3, 6-4).

Shelton, ranked No 16, edged out wildcard Jakub Mensik (4-6, 6-3, 6-4) and Argentinian Francisco Cerundolo, the No 22 seed (7-6 (5), 3-6, 7-6 (5)) earlier in the tournament.

Indian Wells Masters 1000, other round of 16 matches (Indian Wells Tennis Garden, hard, USD 9,495,555):