Wimbledon Day 7 Tips: Shelton can keep Sinner honest at 7/5

• Sinner looking in fine form

• Shelton a talented knockout artist

• Sinner leaves the door ajar

Jannik Sinner is on course to win a first Wimbledon title. The Italian has yet to taste defeat on grass this season and has shown a high standard throughout Wimbledon's first week.

I was very impressed with how he hurdled the challenge of Matteo Berrettini. His compatriot is a top five level talent on this surface and Sinner boxed him smart winning with plenty of room to spare.

However, Berrettini was able to keep the scoreboard competitive and I fancy today's opponent Ben Shelton is capable of doing likewise.

Puncher's chance

American Ben Shelton is still new to the tour but he has left an impressionable mark.

The 21-year old only played his first Grand Slam tournament at the start of the 2023 season blasting a path through to the quarterfinals of the Australian Open, before bettering that with a semifinal charge at the US Open.

Shelton has a huge game with a bullet serve (he hit the hit fastest serve in tournament history in the second round match against Lloyd Harris) and a knockout punch of a forehand. He is new to grass court tennis but he has the key ingredients to be successful on this surface. This is the American's first Wimbledon and he has made the second week.

His performances at Wimbledon so far have revealed his current level, emerging the winner of three rollercoaster five setters. When he is good is good, but he is a volatile commodity.

Sinner dips

Although Sinner has yet to lost a match on a grass court this season there has been noticeable dips in his level.

In five of his eight grass court wins this season Sinner has lost a set. He split sets with Tallon Griekspoor, Fabian Marozsan and Jan-Lennard Struff before taking his eye off the ball in his first Wimbledon match against Yannick Hanfmann.

Against Berrettini - which should have a similar match-up dynamic to this one - Sinner was excellent in smart boxing the big puncher. Sinner barely lost a rally that went beyond a couple of strokes. However, it required him to keep his concentration levels high and that led to him dropping the third set convincingly.

Sinner won three tiebreaks, and identified he was "a bit lucky" to win in that matter. It really can be fine margins to lose a set on a grass court.

The enthusiastic Shelton is enthusiastic of his chances saying, "There's nowhere better than Wimbledon to play tennis so it's hard to be tired when you're out here. I'm happy with what I've done but I'm definitely not satisfied. The pinnacle is playing the world number 1 at Wimbledon. I'm excited so let's get at it!"

It is probably premature for Shelton to be considered a credible threat to defeating Sinner on grass but he does have a chance to keep the scoreboard respectable. Back Sinner to win and both players to win a set at 7/52.40.

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