Ben Shelton hopes to lead a resurgence in success among American men at clay tournaments after becoming the first from his country to win an ATP event above 250 level on the surface in Munich since 2002.
The 23-year-old beat Flavio Cobolli 6-2, 7-5, to win the BMW Open and make 2026 the first season in his career that he has won multiple Tour-level titles. Shelton also won the Dallas Open in February. In his latest final, Shelton won 85% of his first service points and saved all six break points he faced.
It is the first time an American has won Munich since 1993, when Ivan Lendl did so one year after changing his sporting allegiance from Czechoslovakia. The ATP 500 event is the most prestigious clay title won by a male player from the country since Andre Agassi won the 2002 Italian Masters.
“I came out at a really high level,” Shelton told reporters in Germany.
“I have done that before against him, but the toughest thing is maintaining it, as he raises his level. I was able to do that in the second set, hanging in there when he played some great tennis, and I came through to win it in straight sets.
“I am happy with my performance this week. I got better and better as the week went on, and I am pleased with the work my team put in here.”
Shelton is hungry for more success on the dirt heading into the French Open. It is the only Grand Slam where he has yet to make it to the last eight. His best run in Paris was last year when he reached the fourth round before losing in four sets to Carlos Alcaraz.
“I have big ambitions on clay – a surface I want to keep improving on each year. It has become one of my favourite surfaces to play on.” He said.
“It’s a short season and some of the Americans choose not to play every event. But we had two guys in the quarterfinals of the French Open last year. Success on clay is coming back. I am looking forward to being part of this progression of U.S. men’s tennis on clay. On the women’s side, they have a lockdown as they won the French last year. We as the men have some more to do but we are heading into the right direction. This is just one step in a long swing and let’s see what happens.”
America hasn’t seen a man reach the French Open semi-finals since Agassi in 1999, who won the tournament that year.
Shelton has a win-loss record of 17-5 so far this season heading into the Madrid Masters. He is currently ranked sixth in the world and on Monday will be just 30 points outside of the top five.
