7 days ago
Ben Shelton reaches first Masters 1000 final with National Bank Open win over Taylor Fritz
Ben Shelton continued his venture into uncharted territory at the National Bank Open on Wednesday night with an upset win over No. 4 Taylor Fritz, 6-4, 6-3, in the semifinal round.
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.
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