Ben Shelton Wins First Grass Title Over Taylor Fritz

Ben Shelton captured his first career grass-court title on Sunday, defeating fellow American and defending champion Taylor Fritz in the final of the Boss Open in Stuttgart. The top-seeded Shelton prevailed 6-4, 2-6, 6-4 in a one-hour, 48-minute battle to claim the trophy.

The victory marks Shelton's third title of the 2026 season, adding to his earlier hard-court win in Dallas and clay-court triumph in Munich. By winning on all three surfaces within a single calendar year, the 23-year-old becomes the first American man to achieve that multi-surface feat since Sam Querrey in 2010. He also joins world number one Jannik Sinner as the only players on the ATP Tour with three or more singles titles this season.

Shelton's path to the championship was arduous. He played nearly five hours of tennis on Saturday alone due to weather delays, completing a quarterfinal and then saving two match points in a two-hour, 52-minute semifinal victory over Jiri Lehecka. Throughout the week, Shelton lost the first set in each of his first three matches before rallying to win.

In the final, Shelton broke Fritz once to claim the opening set but saw his energy dip in the second as Fritz leveled the match....