Ben Shelton claimed his fifth Tour title with a convincing 6-2, 7-5 victory over Flavio Cobolli, admitting that clay is gradually becoming one of his preferred surfaces. Shelton avenged his loss to Alexander Zverev in the previous year's final, securing his second clay title and making history as the first American to win three ATP 500 titles. Following his win, Shelton expressed his aspirations for success on clay, particularly with Roland Garros approaching.
He was eliminated in the round of 16 last year by Carlos Alcaraz, who went on to win the tournament. "I started at a very high level, which I've done before against him," Shelton said. "The challenge is maintaining that level as he raises his game. I managed to do that in the second set, staying focused when he played exceptional tennis, and ultimately won in straight sets.
I'm pleased with my performance this week, as I continued to improve and am grateful for the effort my team and I put in. My goal is to get better on clay each year, and it's slowly becoming a surface I enjoy playing on. This is just the beginning of a long journey, and we'll see what happens.
The tone of the match was set from the start, with Shelton breaking Cobolli's serve in the first game and then fending off six break points in his first service game. Shelton's victory also makes him the first American since Andre Agassi in 2002 to win a title on clay above the ATP 250 level, having won his first clay title in Houston in 2024. Meanwhile, Arthur Fils defeated Andrey Rublev 6-2, 7-6 (2) to win his first title since 2024 at the Barcelona Open on Sunday.
The Frenchman, who returned to action in February after nearly eight months out due to injury, secured his fourth ATP title with the win.