Jannik Sinner brushed aside concerns over his injured elbow to dispatch Ben Shelton in straight sets and secure his place in the Wimbledon semi-finals for the second year running.
Wearing a protective sleeve on his right arm, the world number one delivered a focused performance, winning 7-6(2), 6-4, 6-4 in just over two hours on Court One.
Sinner, who picked up the elbow problem during his fourth-round clash with Grigor Dimitrov, showed only brief discomfort against the big-hitting Shelton, grimacing once during a return but otherwise dictating play with his trademark precision and power.
The 23-year-old Italian admitted his practice time had been severely limited ahead of the quarter-final but insisted the injury was improving.
His grit shone through in a gruelling 52-minute opening set before he broke the American’s resistance in both the second and third sets’ crucial moments.
Shelton, meanwhile, battled his own physical issues, needing his left ankle re-taped late in the first set, but couldn’t match Sinner’s consistency and composure under pressure.
Already the first Italian man to reach multiple Wimbledon semi-finals, Sinner will be aiming for his maiden final at the All England Club as he pursues a fourth consecutive Grand Slam final appearance.
For Shelton, this run marked another step forward, eclipsing the best Wimbledon result of his father and coach, Bryan, who reached the last 16 in 1993. But on Wednesday, he simply had no answers to the top seed’s relentless level.
