Ben Shelton reaches first Masters 1000 final with National Bank Open win over Taylor Fritz
It's Sheton's best win as a pro, having beaten just one top-5 player in the past. As usual, Shelton dominated with his power serve and forehand.
'Playing back-to-back guys like de Minaur and Taylor, and having so much success in the long rallies is a big confidence builder for me,' Shelton said. 'Last night, I did it with a little bit more slower, off-pace stuff. Today, I had more of my higher-end, attacking tennis. I'm really happy I showed that, depending upon who I'm playing, I can do both.'
Set 1: Shelton 6, Fritz 4
Things were competitive early, with the first three games reaching a break point but ending in a service hold.
Then, the opposite became true, as five return points came over as many games. Knotted at four sets apiece, Shelton delivered the first break of the match, game to 15. A service hold was almost guaranteed, and the upset alert sounded.
Shelton entered the match 21-1 after winning the first set this year, while winning just four of 19 matches after losing the first set. Starting off hot bodes well for the former Florida Gator, and that trend continued in the second set.
Set 2: Shelton 6, Fritz 3
After staying on serve through the first four games of the second set, Shelton broke Fritz earlier than he did in the first. The pressure was already on Fritz to overcome the upset bid and force a third set, but now he needed a break just to force a second-set tiebreaker.
The break never came.
Shelton gained more steam on his serve, delivering ace after ace. Four of his seven aces in the match came on his final two service games.
Fritz held the seventh game to stay alive a bit longer, but Shelton finished it off with a third break to win it in nine games. The entire match took just 78 minutes. Some fans may have spent more time waiting for it to start than actually watching. A 20-minute delay came after a three-set marathon match that took nearly three hours.
Ben Shelton's ATP Ranking
Defeating Fritz cements Shelton in the No. 7 spot in the ATP rankings. He's now 490 points ahead of No. 8Alex de Minaur, whom he beat in the quarterfinal round, and trails No. 6 Novak Djokovic by just 160 points. Winning the National Bank Open would give him 4,320 points in the next update and move him ahead of Djokovic for the No. 6 spot.
Jannik Sinner (12,030), Carlos Alcacarz (8,600), Alexander Zverev (6,380), Fritz (5,525), and Jack Draper (4,650) make up the top five. Those top three are pretty well out of reach for now, but Shelton has plenty of time to catch Draper and Fritz, especially if he continues playing at this level.
The Cincinnati 1,000-point Masters starts immediately after the National Bank Open, and then Shelton gets to play on American soil to round out the Grand Slam season. It would take deep runs and maybe a little luck for Shelton to get by Fritz, but it's not out of the question.
National Bank Open Finals
Shelton faces Karen Khachanov, who upset Zverev, in the finals. The two met earlier this year in the Round of 32 at Indian Wells, which is also a hard-court tournament. Shelton won that match, 6-3, 7-5, but there's far more on the line this time around.
Follow us @GatorsWire on X, formerly known as Twitter, as well as Bluesky, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
USA Today
25 minutes ago
- USA Today
Giovanni Manu: Breaking down the game film from the Lions LT against the Falcons
Without question, the Detroit Lions player I'm asked the most about throughout this 2025 training camp has been Giovanni Manu. From social media to private chats, radio callers to neighbors with Lions tattoos, everyone wants to know about the giant second-year offensive lineman. Manu's second training camp has been up and down, but generally showing real improvement over his rookie summer, when the Canadian college football player from Tonga was often barely capable of functionally playing American football. His biggest steps have come in his base footwork and more controlled initial punch, no doubt the product of working with former NFL center LeCharles Bentley at his OL Performance Center. To sum up what we've seen in training camp from Manu through the first two weeks, his "good" reps are becoming more frequent, but his "bad" reps are still too prevalent and destructive to the offense. As an example, the Lions don't even count the "sack" when either Aidan Hutchinson or Marcus Davenport beat Manu (and others, to be fair) in team drills, just letting the play go on like it didn't happen other than making a note of the defensive win. Preseason is a different story. It's a chance for Manu to face off against unfamiliar defenders, and also really unleash any inner beast that might be reserved when facing teammates in practices. With injuries abounding to the Lions offensive line — Jamarco Jones, Dan Skipper and Justin Herron, who got injured in pregame warmups, all out — and starters Penei Sewell and Taylor Decker not playing in Friday night's exhibition game in Atlanta, Manu got the start at left tackle against the Falcons. I went through every rep for Manu, giving No. 59 a plus for a win and a minus for a loss on each snap. Not every play earns a plus or minus, though in the greenhorn Manu's case, earning a draw can be construed as a plus if you're taking an optimistic slant. First drive The Lions first offensive play is a quick-hit pass to the right side, away from Manu at left tackle. QB Hendon Hooker gets the ball out in less than two seconds. Manu and Falcons EDGE Arnold Ebikete had just established initial contact with No. 17 engaging a bull rush when the pass went out. This is a good example of a play where no plus or minus is earned because Manu's rep was inconsequential, win or lose. The next two plays both earned minuses on the first re-watch. Manu is tasked with a down block on a bootleg left throw. He's way too high in initially engaging DT Ruke Orhorhoro and slides right past him once the defender sees Hooker moving to his left. However, I wound up giving Manu the benefit of the doubt because he did his mission on the play, drawing the inside defender deeper to open up more space for the play. That erased the minus. The third play is a definite minus. Ebikete strong-arms Manu from an outside tack, getting both hands into 59's chest and pushing him back into Hooker's drop. Center Trystan Colon also got beat quickly, resulting in Hooker scrambling and ultimately fumbling. Ebikete's quickness to get into Manu's pads and control the leverage right away is an instance (one we see A LOT in practice) of Manu's length being a detriment rather than the advantage it could be, due to his lack of quickness and confidence in firing out those long arms. 3 plays, 1 minus Rest of Hooker time Hooker played three more drives at quarterback, which makes a nice cluster to clump Manu's reps together. He got his first plus on the first play of the second drive, an interior run where Manu got his inside arm on Ebiekte's inside shoulder and torqued the end out of the hole. Good hand placement here, and Manu sustained the strength without holding (much). Manu also earned a plus on Hooker's long scramble run on third down on this drive, nicely recovering his anchor after Ebikete initially got the better of him on a bull rush. Manu sank his hips nicely and stood up No. 17 before he could really threaten Hooker in the pocket. The next rep also resulted in a plus, a third positive rep in a row. This is the play where Isaac TeSlaa couldn't quite haul in a nice throw from Hooker, a play that, upon further review, absolutely should have resulted in a defensive holding penalty committed against the rookie wideout. Manu's balanced footwork in pass pro was impressive here. The subsequent two drives weren't so impressive. Manu did earn two plusses, one in pass pro (throwing Ebikete out of the club) and one in the run game, but also three minuses, split between one run and two pass: the 4th down completion to TeSlaa, where Manu blocked the wrong mark, and the Hooker fumble while matched against James Pearce. Through Detroit's first four drives, Manu has five pluses and four minuses. That's an acceptable start while facing off primarily Atlanta's second-team defense, with quite a few reps against Atlanta's first-rounder in Pearce. Finishing the first half Detroit ran six more offensive plays, five on a scoring drive with Kyle Allen in at QB and then one final play before the half. Manu earned a plus on the first play, a run to his side, but then followed that with a string of missed blocks that resulted in four quick minuses. The most notable of those came in pass protection against Pearce on Allen's long strike to Jackson Meeks, where Manu did okay right off the snap but was easily beaten when Pearce pushed back and then charged inside left tackle to get pressure on Allen. Manu also got pushed back into Allen's lap on the TD throw to TeSlaa, with Pearce firing two hands into Manu's chest before the big tackle's punches hit full extension. Only Pearce can answer this, but it sure looks like the Falcons rookie figured out how he can beat Manu after a couple of series, and Manu simply isn't technically sophisticated or football savvy enough to adjust mid-game. The half ends with Manu at six pluses (2 run, 4 pass) and eight minuses (2 run, 6 pass). Second half Detroit mounted two drives in the injury-abbreviated second half, though those two drives offered 18 more offensive reps for Manu at left tackle. As noted on the long pass to Meeks in the first half, minuses can come on net positive plays. In one case for Manu on the first drive of the second half, his minuses created a net positive. On the play after Allen was sacked (that one on TE Kenny Yeboah on the other side), Manu got trounced right away on a simple outside dip by Falcons EDGE DeAngelo Malone. But Malone caught Allen up high and was guilty of roughing the passer. Manu barely touched Malone on the play, however. To his credit, Allen stood in and delivered a perfect strike on a crossing route to Ronnie Bell. Manu almost completely whiffed on an inside run block on the next play, the last player moving at the snap. Lacale London got an unblocked hit on Jacob Saylors as a result. Manu did get a plus in pass protection on the final offensive play of the series, nicely engulfing an unimpressive bull rush from Malone. This was another instance of Manu sitting down nicely with a balanced stance and good hand placement. The final Lions drive spanned 11 plays. Manu picked up my favorite plus of the game on play No. 8, a quick backside screen pass to his side. Manu executed a beautiful cut block on an unsuspecting Malone that expertly opened up the throwing lane. Manu did get up slowly from the cut block, looking like he was favoriing his right arm/shoulder. The next play resulted in a minus because Manu simply quit blocking on a run play that bounced back to his side, with his mark making the tackle. He completely whiffed on the run block on the next play, too, lunging too far and not firing out either arm as Malone quickly went around him to assist on the tackle. Second half tally: 3 plusses (1 run, 2 pass) and 7 minuses (3 run, 4 pass) in 18 plays Final Manu evaluation Manu earned 9 total pluses (3 run, 6 pass) and 15 minuses (5 run, 10 pass) in 48 snaps, playing every Detroit offensive rep at left tackle. Detroit's second drive of the game was outstanding for Manu, showing very real promise and development. He couldn't sustain it, however. With this being the longest he's played in an actual game setting, fatigue might have crept in as an issue. There are definitely some positives to take away from the game for Manu, but he remains very much a work in progress that needs a lot more progress before he can be relied upon in any game that counts.
NBC Sports
2 hours ago
- NBC Sports
Paula Badosa pulls out of the US Open. She hasn't played since a first-round loss at Wimbledon
NEW YORK (AP) — Former top-10 player Paula Badosa pulled out of the U.S. Open on Friday after dealing with a back injury that has sidelined her since a first-round loss at Wimbledon on June 30. The U.S. Tennis Association announced Badosa's withdrawal and said Jil Teichmann would replace her in the field. Alizé Cornet, who retired from tennis last year but returned to action this year, is the next woman in line to get a berth in the draw at Flushing Meadows if someone else pulls out. Play is scheduled to begin on Aug. 24 in the singles brackets at the year's last Grand Slam tournament. Badosa, a 27-year-old from Spain, reached a career-best ranking of No. 2 in 2022 and is currently No. 12. She reached the semifinals at the Australian Open this January. Her best showing at the U.S. Open was a run to the quarterfinals last year.
San Francisco Chronicle
3 hours ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Frederick Richard is taking his fight to make gymnastics 'cool' to a new front: His uniform
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Frederick Richard is taking the fight to make men's gymnastics matter to a new front: his wardrobe. The charismatic 21-year-old Olympic bronze medalist switched out the stirrup pants that have long been a staple of the men's uniform for shorts with compression leggings at the U.S. Championships this weekend, firm in his belief that the three-tenths (0.3) deduction he receives every day of competition that he breaks the rules is worth it if it makes his sport more accessible. Even when those tenths add up. Richard edged Fuzzy Benas by less than a quarter of a point for second place behind two-time national champion Asher Hong. If Richard had worn the traditional uniform, his margin over Benas could have been a little more comfortable. Yet asked if the statement he is trying to make — that it's time for men's gymnastics to modernize its uniforms — is worth the risk to his potential placement during a given meet, he didn't hesitate. 'It's 1,000% worth it,' Richard said. 'If you look at these kids in the crowd, I'm thinking about them and I'm thinking about when I was younger.' Finding an alternative While Richard quickly fell in love with gymnastics as a kid growing up in the Boston area, the stirrup pants worn by the guys on pommel horse, still rings, parallel bars, and high bar were another matter. 'If I left the gym to go to the gas station, I didn't want anybody to see me in my pommel horse pants,' Richard said. 'Kids would say, 'Do you do gymnastics?' I'd say 'Yeah.' But I didn't want them to search 'gymnast' and see the uniform. I didn't feel like it was cool.' His solution was to design an alternative. With the help of the apparel company Turn, Richard debuted the look earlier this year and 'refined' it ahead of nationals. During the opening night of competition on Thursday, the rising Michigan junior wore maize-and-blue colored zebra-patterned leggings with (almost) matching blue shorts. On Saturday, Richard swapped the maize and blue for gray. Both times, there was a 'ND -0.3' next to Richard's score on the first event in which the traditional pants were required. Yet Richard wasn't as focused on the ribbon board where his score was posted, but on the young boys in the stands below them. '(I want them to) see this, and they're like, 'This is cool. I want to wear this. This kid is trying to make the sport cool, he looks cool,'' Richard said. 'And that's the stuff that gets kids into the sport, that's stuff that keeps kids in the sport.' Even if it's a largely American conversation. Fighting for relevance While the popularity of men's gymnastics in the U.S. has declined for decades (though there is optimism that the bronze medal Richard and his teammates captured at the 2024 Olympics could help stem the tide), there are no such issues overseas. They're not talking about stirrup pants in China. Or Japan. Or Russia. Places with dominant programs whose stars become champions and national heroes in the process. The challenges men's gymnastics faces in the U.S. are many. The number of Division I programs that offer it as a scholarship sport is a fraction of what it was decades ago. And the impact of the recent House settlement could make opportunities at a level that has long served as a feeder system to the U.S. national team even scarcer. At the Olympic level, the men have long competed in the shadow of the star-studded (and highly successful) women's program. Richard has long understood this. He's seen the attrition firsthand. While the uniform didn't stop him from pressing on, he believes he might be the exception, not the rule. Countless young boys dabble in multiple sports growing up, gymnastics included. Richard thinks tweaking the uniform requirements into something he considers more modern could remove what he thinks might be a roadblock to sticking with it for some. 'It does add to what makes a 12-year-old boy decide, 'Do I want to keep doing this sport? Or should I play football or soccer, because my friends think I'm cool when I play with them?' he said. The rules do allow for a little latitude. Some German female gymnasts opted for full-body unitards at each of the last two Olympics, though the design does not run afoul of FIG regulations. What Richard is doing does. Pushing the limits And while he stressed he would never wear his outlawed uniform in a team competition — he wore regulation pants while helping lead Michigan to the NCAA championship this spring — that might not be the case the next time he competes internationally. 'We'll see about the world stage,' Richard said. 'We'll have to talk and see what they allow, but I want to keep pushing it. I'm having fun. I feel more free.' He'll have some time to think about it. When the six-man roster for the 2025 World Championships was announced late Saturday night, Richard's name wasn't on it. The decision had nothing to do with Richard's uniform but the uniqueness of this year's world meet, which does not include a team event and is largely designed for event specialists. At his best, Richard is one of the top all-arounders on the planet. Yet even he admitted he was at about '80%' at nationals following a whirlwind stretch that included traveling to places like Uganda. Richard is partnering with the African nation to open a facility for boys there interested in acrobatics. The joy he felt during the trip was palpable. So has the criticism he's received back home for his uniform choice, with some telling him if he wants to look like a basketball player, maybe he should go play basketball. While Richard's modified look wouldn't look out of place on the court, pommel horse specialist Stephen Nedoroscik — who won a pair of bronze medals in Paris and became a breakout star in the process (all while wearing stirrup pants) last summer — agrees with his Olympic teammate that there 'should be a certain level of flexibility' when it comes to uniforms, though he also pointed out that having everyone wear identical outfits is designed to help the judges do their jobs. 'So like, you can't wear like super baggy clothes, obviously,' Nedoroscik said. 'But I do like there should be maybe a little bit of wiggle room.' That's all Richard says he is asking for, though it seems highly unlikely the FIG would eliminate the deduction for a uniform violation anytime soon. That is not going to stop Richard from pressing on. 'I'll wear it for the next 10 years if I have to,' he said. 'So eventually, if I keep succeeding and winning, and eventually on the international stage do the same thing and keep winning, (the FIG) will see how people like it (and) the younger kids will start wearing it ... and the trend is going to grow.'
