Ben Shelton claimed his fifth Tour title with a commanding 6-2, 7-5 win 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 victory, Shelton expressed his ambitions for the upcoming clay season, having been knocked out in the round of 16 at Roland Garros last year by eventual champion Carlos Alcaraz. "I started at a very high level, which I've done before against him," Shelton stated.
"The challenge is maintaining that level as he elevates 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, continually improving and happy with the work my team and I put in. Moving forward, I have significant aspirations for the clay courts, a surface I aim to improve on each year, and it's slowly becoming one of my favorites. This is just the beginning of a long journey, and we'll see what happens. The tone of the match was established early, with Shelton breaking Cobolli's serve in the first game and then defending six break points in his first service game.
The 23-year-old Italian had played an outstanding match the previous day to defeat Zverev and reach his second Tour final this year but was unable to replicate that finesse in the final. Shelton's win also makes him the first American since Andre Agassi in 2002 to win a title on clay above the ATP 250 level, having secured his first clay title in Houston in 2024. In another match, Arthur Fils overcame 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, claimed his fourth ATP title with the victory. Fils quickly took the first set in just 31 minutes before failing to capitalize on seven break points as Rublev stayed alive in the match at 2-2 in the second set. The 21-year-old secured a crucial break to make it 4-2 before squandering a chance to seal the win when three consecutive errors gifted Rublev a break back while leading 5-3. Rublev fought back to rescue three match points and hold, then broke for a 6-5 lead, but Fils drew level and forced a decisive tiebreak, where he prevailed 7-2.