After falling in the Round of 16 in back-to-back ATP tournaments, former Florida standout Ben Shelton reclaimed his glory in the Stuttgart Open in Germany on Sunday.
On center court, Shelton faced a familiar foe in No. 2 Taylor Fritz. Their friendly American rivalry began three years ago at Indian Wells, when Fritz bested Shelton in three sets. But, with the 6-4, 2-6, 6-4 victory in Stuttgart, Shelton has won three straight and owns the career head-to-head advantage 3-1. The victory snapped a nearly two-month-long, four-match losing streak for Shelton.
The Gator entered the match ranked No. 1 and enjoyed the first-round bye. He began his first match with aggressive play against Marcos Giron, crashing the net and establishing a dominant presence. Despite Shelton’s 106 mph serves, Giron put up a fight and took the first set 7-6(4).
But Shelton clapped back; he returned volleys and took the middle set with an ace, winning 6-4. Though he trailed in the last two sets, the Gator survived as Giron fired a missile that landed just outside the sideline, securing Shelton the7-6(5) win.
Then, at the beginning of the quarterfinals match, Sho Shimabukuro forced Shelton to play full-court tennis. His arching drop shots, soft touch spinners and blazing 120 mph serves proved to be too much for the Gator to handle, as Shimabukuro took the first set 6-4.
But as Shelton adjusted, he began using his powerful serves and hard forehand swing to overpower his opponent. The Gator threw down a 126 mph serve that Shimabukuro could not properly return, leading to a tied game with a 6-3 middle set. After both players scrambled around the court returning volleys, Shelton called the game with another fast serve, as Shimabukuro's shot fell just short of the net. The UF alum secured the quarterfinal victory with the 6-4 win in set three.
What came next was perhaps his toughest match of the entire tournament as he faced the Czech, No. 4 Jiri Lehecka in the semifinals. The first set was filled with beautifully placed bullet shots and drop shots that fell down each sideline and baseline. But Lehecka snuck past Shelton in the first set winning 7-6(4), as Shelton committed 11 unforced errors and ultimately fired a shot that could not stay in bounds.
This seemed to stick with him during much of the second set as Lehecka took the lead, but the former Gator hung in as he volleyed up close and personal to tie it 6-6. The match prolonged thanks to Shelton’s quick reaction time at the net to secure the lead 11-10. Shelton then turned things around as he threw down a winner to take the set 7-6(14). He carved up 9 aces, won 80% of second serve points and tacked 20 winners.
This momentum carried on into the third and final set. On the second game deuce point, Shelton did what he does best and slammed a forehand shot out of play to take the lead 2-0. After a tight back-and-forth, Shelton prevailed for another 7-6 victory.
But the job was not finished. Shelton made his first finals appearance since the BMW Open in April, and who better to face than his American rival, No. 2 Taylor Fritz? Shelton began the first set with straight power; he rocked Fritz with a 135 mph serve, hurled a forehand spike in a jumpman-like manner and finished off the volley with a backhand slice that slid past the sideline.
Yet Shelton’s versatility shined. The 23-year-old can hurt you with a 130+ mph serve or fake you out with a soft-touched chop shot. In the first set, he did exactly that with back-to-back soft shots at the net to go up 4-2. He went on to take the last game without allowing Fritz a single point en route to a 6-4 first-set victory.
But Fritz quickly adjusted, took the lead in the middle frame 4-1 and eventually wrapped it up 6-2. The tournament-deciding final set went back and forth. Fritz took the early 1-0 lead, but after an hour and 48 minutes, Shelton won 6-4 with a heavy serve that Fritz couldn't answer.
The Gator dethroned the reigning champion and secured his first-ever grass-court victory. After falling short in the Madrid Open, the Italian Open, the Bitpanda Hamburg Open and the French Open, the former UF star finally reclaimed victory. He also became the first American to win on hard, clay and grass courts in the same year since Sam Querrey in 2010.
Shelton is scheduled to face Nick Kyrgios in the round of 32 on Tuesday in the Terra Wortmann Open in Halle, Germany.
Contact Ethan Feinberg at efeinberg@alligator.org. Follow him on X @thefeinline.
Ethan Feinberg is a senior sports journalism student in his second semester at The Alligator. He is currently the Summer 2026 men’s tennis reporter. Ethan enjoys watching and playing sports like football and basketball, working out, fishing, cooking, and having a good laugh with his friends and family. His favorite sports teams are the New England Patriots, Miami Heat, Florida Panthers, and the Miami Marlins. (Drake "Drake Maye" Maye is the GOAT.)
